The Snake Queen
by Logan Jindrak X
Summary: Jewel has recovered from her injuries after being saved from the smugglers. However, things are far from being over for the Spix's macaws. When a snake queen comes from another world to take their friend away, Blu and the others must go out of their way to stop her. (Sequel to "Road to Sao Paulo")
1. Recovery celebration

Life really took a strange shift for a certain Spix's macaw from Minnesota. His former routine consisted of doing nothing but waking up every morning, eating, brushing his beak, cleaning himself up, and then enjoy the rest of day with Linda. However, all of this changed when he received the visit of an ornithologist who brought him to Rio, where he met his mate and defeated a group of smugglers to save his new friends. Things got even worse recently when his mate got captured by new smugglers, forcing him to travel all the way to Sao Paulo with even more new friends to rescue her.

But things were going better now: there were no more smugglers to be seen in Rio de Janeiro and the last Spix's macaws returned safely to their home. Blu looked after Jewel for two whole weeks, making sure to fulfil all of her needs like the lovely husband that he was. The last thing he wished for was to see her unhappy while she recovered from her wounds. Right now, he brought her in the middle of the aviary's room where they met with a blindfold on her eyes.

"Come on, Blu. Can you at least give me a clue about your big surprise?"

"If I did, it would no longer be a surprise, darling," Blu replied with a chuckle.

"But you know that I don't like having my eyes covered like this." Jewel attempted to remove her blindfold with her wings, only for Blu to stop her.

"Ha, ha, ha, no cheating. You don't look before I tell you to do so." Knowing her mate would not change his mind, Jewel just rolled her closed eyes and accepted to wait in the dark. Lucky for her, the wait only lasted a few seconds more until Blu placed his wings on her shoulders. "Alright, you can remove it now." Taking the piece of cloth off of her face, Jewel opened her turquoise eyes and-.

"SURPRISE!"

Jewel jumped a bit upon seeing the aviary's artificial jungle filled with literally all of her friends - Nico, Pedro, Rafael, Eva, and even Luiz! Blu's new friends, Coco and Tye Wang, were present as well. All of them were cheering loudly and holding a streamer reading: "HAPPY RECOVERY, JEWEL".

"Oh, guys!" Jewel said with her wings on her chest. She then turned to her mate. "So that was your big surprise?"

"Exactly. I wanted what's best for the most beautiful and fierce bird in the world," Blu replied with a smile.

"Aww," the female macaw cooed and kissed her mate on the cheek.

For the next minutes, the macaw couple received pats, wingshakes and good wishes from all of their friends. Afterwards, they celebrated Jewel's recovery with some food they have brought over and everyone chatted across the room. It was like a little reception between friends during a holiday.

"... But I gotta say the most dangerous part was when we faced against the five smugglers," Blu told Rafael and Eva.

"Wait a minute, five?" Eva asked with rising an eyebrow. "You said that they were only three of them with one being away at the moment."

Blu chuckled a bit at this remark. "Eva, which one of us fought against these smugglers to save Jewel, huh?"

"True," the keel-billed toucan admitted with rolling her eyes. "But please, tell me that this explosion didn't leave her with lifelong injuries."

"No; she made a full recovery and should be able to fly by tomorrow."

"That's true; I have pictures to testify," Coco said, turning his camera on to show the pictures he took during the journey to the toucan couple.

Just then, Nico flew in the air and whistled to get everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please? As you all know, we are gathered here tonight to celebrate the full recovery of our hotwing friend, Jewel. And what kind of party would this be without some dancing?"

"I totally agree!" Pedro said with enthusiasm. "Let's all find a partner, 'cause it's time to beat and swing your tail feathers around!" The birds did just that, finding a partner with whom dancing or just doing it alone. Blu and Jewel took the center spot, ready to have some fun.

_Hail (hail)_  
_What's the matter with your head, yeah_  
_Hail (hail)_  
_What's the matter with your mind_  
_And your sign an-a, oh-oh-oh_  
_Hail (hail)_  
_Nothin' the matter with your head_  
_Baby, find it, come on and find it_  
_Hail, with it, baby_  
_'Cause you're fine_  
_And you're mine, and you look so divine_

As Nico sang, Blu and Jewel moved together to the song with the male placing his wings on his mate's hips and the female wrapping hers around her husband's neck.

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_

The two lovebirds' steps were in perfect synch with the song. They stared into each other's eyes with smiles, just like they did when they first danced at the samba club.

_Hail (hail)_  
_What's the matter with you feel right_  
_Don't you feel right baby_  
_Hail, oh yeah_  
_Get it from the main vine, all right_  
_I said-a find it, find it_  
_Go on and love it if you like it, yeah_  
_Hail (hail)_  
_It's your business if you want some, take some_  
_Get it together baby_

Soon, all the avians started moving with more energy, Blu even spinning Jewel on herself. At one point, the Spix's macaws noticed with amusement that Luiz was dancing with a bit too much energy and accidentally kicked his feet into two nearby birds.

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love, now_

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love, now_

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love, now_

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love, now_

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_

As the song got softer, Blu and Jewel got back in their previous position, holding each other in their wings and smiling. They couldn't resist the desire to kiss each other on the beak.

_Hail (hail)_  
_What's the matter with you feel right_  
_Don't you feel right baby_  
_Hail, oh yeah_  
_Get it from the main vine, all right_

_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_  
_Come and get your love_

After Nico and Pedro finished singing, everyone clapped and cheered in joy. Blu and Jewel kept kissing each other, never wanting to let go of one another ever again. Just then, a flash coming from beside them ruined the moment and they turned to see a white-collared kite smiling with his camera. "This is going straight to my souvenir book."

"GIVE ME THIS CAMERA RIGHT NOW, COCO!" Blu angrily yelled, running after his friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the rainforest, a portal of light opened and out of it came a serpentine figure. It stretched its head as high as it could and groaned a little bit. "Gah! I hate this form; no more hands to help me around. But it's worth it; I'm not gonna be here for long anyway."

Golden globes glowed in the dark with malice. "It's time to find my new little warrior..."

**Author's note: After a full month since I finished "Road to Sao Paulo", it is time to kick off the sequel. So much has happened to me in real life: I moved into a new home (that's the second time in four months!), I fell sick with a throat infection, and right now, my mother's at the hospital because of a back injury. All of this combined with the fact that I'm TIRED of winter! Please, make that summer comes soon.**

**The song that Nico and Pedro sang was "Come and Get Your Love" by Redbone. It's the song that plays at the beginning of "Guardians of the Galaxy". Constructive reviews are welcome and, as always, may the gods watch over you all.**


	2. Dance of the snake

**Author's note: Before we start the second chapter of this story, I'd like to point out an important detail. While the previous story "Road To Sao Paulo" was more drama-oriented, this one will contain elements of fantasy. If you wanna know what type of fantasy, you can go read my archive-style story "The Atlas and Story of the Animal Kingdom".**

The sun rose in the clear blue sky, bringing its light upon the beautiful country of Brazil. As its rays entered their hollow, the last Spix's macaws on earth yawned and slowly woke up from a peaceful slumber. They returned home after spending a very long time at the aviary with their friends, having fun and celebrating Jewel's recovery. They almost fell asleep on the spot with Blu's wings wrapping around his beloved mate.

"Good morning, angel," he whispered after seeing his mate opening her beautiful eyes and smiling. "Slept well?"

"Sure did," Jewel replied with kissing her husband on the cheek. "Last night was a lot fun, wasn't it?"

"Yup, the most fun we had in a very long time." Blu stared into Jewel's turquoise eyes. They were the most gorgeous thing he had the chance to see in his whole life. He could stare at them for a full day was it not for his natural need to blink his eyes. And judging by the gaze she returned, he could tell she felt the same about his hazel eyes. They soon wrapped their wings around one another and pressed their beaks for a deep, passionate kiss.

The macaw battled their tongues against one another for a full minute before the lack of air forced them to break. "So, what do you wanna do for today?" Jewel asked.

"How about we start by getting a good breakfast to kick things off?"

"Sounds like a good idea." Just as Blu opened his wings, ready to take off and out of the nest, Jewel pulled a wing on his shoulder to stop him. "Blu? I... There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Sure, what is it, Jew?" the male macaw asked, closing his wings again.

"... Blu, do you think we can have children one day?"

This question caught Blu off guard. His hazel eyes widened and his beak stuttered a bit. Children? He never thought about having a mate at all during his time in Minnesota. So the thought of having kids never existed in his mind at all. From what he had heard and read, raising children was amongst the hardest challenge one could face in life. To start it off, giving birth was a very painful process for the female. Then, there was the tasks of giving them a good education, feeding them when they were hungry, dealing with their whims, waking up at night when they cry. Just imagining all of this was enough to make Blu feel tired.

"I don't... know, Jewel," Blu replied with rubbing the back of his head and looking down. "I mean, taking care of a kid is a huge responsibility. And, not so long ago, I was having a hard time taking care of myself. So-"

Jewel shushed him with a feather on his beak. "It's okay, Blu. You don't have to give me your answer immediately. Just promise me you will think about it, okay?" She removed her feather after receiving a nod from her mate. "Now, let's go get something to eat; I'm starving."

The two Spix's macaws opened their wings and left their nest to go search for their breakfast. Since he didn't feel like eating mangoes again (along with the fact that he still wasn't used to cut them off their tree), Blu led his mate to a small bush of blueberries - his favorite fruit. Because they were delicious and easy to pick off. The couple chewed on the little berries in silence, the blue juice flowing out of their beaks.

"Well, that hit the spot," Blu sighed with patting his full stomach and letting out a little burp.

"What do you wanna do now?" Jewel asked with rubbing some blueberry juice off of her beak with her wing.

"Let's see. We already saw all of our friends last night, so..." Blu rubbed his chin, trying to come up with an idea. Soon, he snapped his feathers with a smile. "I know, we could play a game Linda and I used to play when we were kids."

"What is it?"

"It's called Hide and Seek. It's a game where one player covers his eyes and counts to 100 while the other-"

"Blu, I know what Hide and Seek is," Jewel cut him off. "I might not be the smartest with human stuff, but I used to play a lot of games when I was a kid too. Including Hide and Seek."

"Oh, sorry," Blu said with rubbing the back of his head.

Jewel giggled and kissed his cheek. "It's okay. So? Do you wanna hide or seek?"

"Hmm, I'll start by seeking while you hide, okay?"

"That's cool with me." Jewel then gave him a teasing grin. "But don't come crying when you waste a full day trying to find me in vain, okay? I'm a master of hiding away."

Feeling a dent in his pride, Blu puffed his chest out. "I think you're underestimating me a little too much, young macaw. After all, I managed to find you in Sao Paulo and at the carnival before that. I may be no hunter, but I know how to find what I want to find."

"We'll see about that," Jewel responded, feeling the spirit of competition at its peak.

Blu walked over to a tree trunk and covered his eyes with his wings while Jewel opened her wings and took off into the sky. Slowly but surely, the sound of her mate counting became distant behind her. She would win this because she knew this rainforest by heart while Blu settled in very recently.

#

After flying for a few minutes, Jewel reached a remote part of the rainforest that rarely got visited by birds like her. Blu would never think of searching for her here because she never showed him this part of the forest. She could already picture him flying through the forest for a full day and failing to find her. This made her giggle to herself.

"All I have to do now is wait for a while and then go see if he decided to quit," the Spix's macaw told herself with leaning back against the tree trunk of the branch she was perched on and closing her eyes.

What the blue bird failed to notice was that a serpentine figure glanced at her from above. Licking her lips at the sight of her prey, the female snake began to get down from the upper branch, approaching the unsuspecting macaw. Reaching the branch, she slithered toward Jewel while swiveling her non-existent hips in a seductive manner. "Well, well, hello there, beautiful," she playfully let her presence known.

Alerted by this new voice, Jewel's turquoise eyes shot open and she immediately jumped to her feet and looked at the intruder. An alluring female snake whose lime green scales reflected the rays of the sun and whose white underbelly stretched from the tip of her tail all the way up to her jaw. Her face was very... pretty and voluptuous. Her jade green eyes looked nothing short of seductive if somewhat a bit strange.

"W-Who are you?" Jewel, of all birds, knew that snakes were sneaky and dangerous creatures. Taking a few steps back, she got her wings ready in case the reptile would try to eat her.

"Me? I'm the queen of Kambuzia and the prettiest creature you will ever lay eyes upon." She then twisted her lips into a smile and gave the macaw a wink. "But you, darling, may call me Shanti."

While she still felt a bit uneasy, Jewel understood this serpent woman did not intend to hurt her as she could have jumped on her while she rested and had her eyes closed. "Hum... Hello, Shanti," she said with letting her wings go back to her sides. "My name's Jewel."

"So, what is a lovely little dancer like you doing here alone? This area of the forest looks pretty dangerous and lonely to me."

"I'm not a helpless bird, Shanti. I'm a strong, independent woman who knows how to defend herself," Jewel replied, a bit offended by how this snake underestimated her. "And what makes you think that I'm a dancer?"

Shanti giggled a bit and pointed her tail at Jewel's waist. "Your hips, sweetheart. Your hips don't lie." She gave another wink to the bird before herself swaying her non-existent hips a bit. "I'm a dancer too. One of the best there is, although my serpentine form certainly gives me an unfair advantage in that department."

Jewel blushed a bit. She was used to receive compliments about her eyes and feathers, but not her hips. "So, why did you come to see me, Shanti?"

"To recruit you, my dear Jewel." The snake reached her tail to stroke the macaw's head feathers. "I have been looking for a new right hand to help me direct my city. A strong woman with the spirit of a warrior and the grace of a goddess. In other words, you."

Jewel blinked her eyes in confusion. Right hand? A city? She pulled the snake's tail away with her wing. "Listen, Shanti, it was nice meeting you and all, but right now, I gotta go. My mate is searching for me and I can't keep him waiting." She opened her wings, eager to get away from this strange snake.

"Please, stay where you are," Shanti demanded. Suddenly, Jewel's body stopped moving, as if an invisible force took control of it. "Now please, turn toward me and lift your wings above your head." Jewel's body once again obeyed, turning toward the snake and her wings lifting themselves above her head, making it look like she was about to dance.

"W-What is going on?! What's that wizardry?! Let me go!" the Spix's macaw exclaimed, struggling to break free of the invisible grip controlling her.

Shanti wrapped her body around Jewel's legs all the way up to her hips, used her tail to touch her chin and make her look in her eyes as she grinned. "You are a unique creature, Jewel. There is no way I can let such potential go to waste with a puny man. Now, please, look at my dance and let your beliefs fade away."

The snake woman backed away from her prey in order to have enough space to dance and then pulled her body up, exposing her beautiful white stomach. She started swinging her non-existent hips in a fashion that, at first glance, was much alike what she did a few moments ago. Yet, there was a key difference that Jewel was barely able to notice. There was some unique form of energy that radiated along Shanti's green scales, making her moves seem a little more radiant, a little more captivating to the trained eye.

"W-What are you-" Jewel tried to ask, only to be silenced by the beautiful snake who pulled her tail on her beak.

"Shh, don't talk, my dear Jewel. Block everything that is not me and my dance. Forget about this male that you call your mate and focus on my sweet voice and perfect body," she whispered into her ear.

As she heard her voice, Jewel felt her worries and fear melt away for some reason. She felt... relaxed and... happy? Her eyelids slowly closed as her beak twisted into a smile. Shanti grinned as well, seeing she managed to get her prey caught into trance. Now, all she needed to do was to carry her dancing on until she completely submitted to her will.

She started moving her body at a slow pace - since no music played, she followed the rhythm of her heart and soul. Soon, the non-existing music kicked up the pace and so did Shanti, her body undulating more with her jade green eyes shining. The way the reptile moved was uncanny as her hips went on to sway in a wide arc, stopping not because they had reached their limit, but because of a particularly devious and subtle pendulum effect that was magnified by the rampant and near-invisible energy emerging from the scales. The more she danced, the more Jewel fell in love with this woman...

"From now on, you are my right hand and you will obey my orders. Whenever I talk to you, you will listen carefully and obey me without any hesitation or second thoughts. You are part of my army. Your loyalty belongs to me."

Every word Shanti said got absorbed into Jewel's subconscious, making her will fade away and accept her fate of submission. "Yes... Master...," she replied in a zombie-like voice.

"Good." Shanti grinned evilly. She reached her tail to rub her new pet's tummy and also gave a kiss to her cheek. "In return, I will consider you a part of my family. I will love you as much as you love me, just like my own daughter." She pulled her chin up with her tail again and stared deeply into her beautiful turquoise eyes. "Are you fine with this, my beautiful Jewel?"

"I'd love nothing more... mother..."


	3. Karasu Tengu

"Jewel! Jewel, where are you?" Blu frantically called while flying over the rainforest. He decided to call the game of Hide and Seek and let his mate win, but she did not respond. No matter how hard he screamed, Jewel did not come out. Blu thought at first that she was messing with him and would come out after a minute, but it didn't happen and he was seriously worried.

"Where's the last place you saw her?" Tye asked. While flying around the forest, Blu got lucky to meet up with his Eclectus parrot friend who was working on his hunter's skills.

"It was at the blueberry bushes near our tree, around half an hour ago."

"And in which direction did she flew?"

"I have no idea; my eyes were covered."

"What? Why would you cover your eyes instead of looking at your own mate?"

"Dude, that's the whole point of Hide and Seek."

The two birds kept flying over the forest in search of the other Spix's macaw. Her mate became more and more worried with every second passing by. What if something had happened to her? Did she get attacked by a predator and eaten alive? Did new smugglers wanting to get money for the last Spix's macaws managed to capture her again? These scary thoughts rushed through Blu's mind, causing some sweat to form on his feathers and make him flap his wings even harder.

"Blu!" Tye said to snap him out of his mental struggle. "Look: is that her?"

Gazing down in the same direction as his friend, Blu indeed spotted a light blue figure on the forest floor. Upon further analysis, he could confirm that this figure was Jewel with her unique light blue feathers. Why she decided to walk instead of flying was beyond him, but that was trivial for the moment: all he wanted was to be sure she was okay.

"Jewel!" he called and darted to the floor like an arrow. The landing caused him to feel some pain in his feet, but he did not care. "Jewel? Are you okay? Where have you been?" he asked in a softer tone as he approached his mate.

However, his relief turned back to worry when she turned around, revealing a surprised then hostile look. Before he could say anything else, she delivered a surprisingly painful spin kick across his face which knocked him to the ground.

"J-Jewel?! What's wrong?" he asked with looking at his hostile mate and rubbing his burning cheek (though it wasn't as bad as the pain and confusion in his heart).

"Stay away from me, male!" she declared in the most serious and threatening tone while taking what looked like a fighting stance.

"Hey, calm down, Jewel!" Tye said with rising his wings in defense. "We're your friends, Tye and Blu! You don't remember us?"

"Not anymore, male." Before Tye could turn around, a big green tail came out of nowhere and slapped him so hard that he was sent crashing into a nearby tree, falling unconscious.

"Tye!" Blu exclaimed before looking up at the attacker in question. A tall and beautiful female snake who licked her lips with a grin. Trying to not let this distract him, he shook his head and gave a firm glare. "Who are you?!"

The reptile turned in his direction and giggled a bit. "I am the Snake Queen, Shanti, puny male. You should feel lucky I even take the time to answer your questions."

Snake Queen? What was that supposed to mean? Blu did not care and simply gritted his beak. "What have you done to Jewel?!"

Shanti licked her lips once again, smiling and wrapping a coil around Jewel's waist. "Nothing wrong; I simply liberated her from the stupid grip you had on her and set her spirit free. She is now my right hand and a true female warrior fighting for the right cause..."

"GIVER HER BACK!" Blu yelled angrily and charged toward the female snake.

The young macaw did read many books about snakes and knew they were fast and sneaky... but he didn't expect her to be fast enough to wrap a coil around his body, pinning his wings against his sides, and completely immobilizing him in a split-second. Groaning, he attempted to break free in vain from the snake's clutch. Giggling, she brought her charming yet threatening face right in front of his.

"You're lucky. I'm in a good mood today. So I'm gonna allow you to live for now, but...," she brought her lips next to his non-existent ear, "don't ever try to get near me again..."

And with a swift swing of her tail, she slammed Blu's head against a nearby rock, practically snapping his skull in half, and dropping him on the forest floor. Blu could not remember the last time he experienced such an intense pain. He clutched his poor head with both wings, feeling a warm liquid flowing on them and over his face all the way to the ground below him.

The macaw somehow managed to keep his hazel eyes open long enough to see the figures of the snake and Jewel walking toward some sort of glowing white circle. He forced himself to mumble one last word before fading into unconsciousness.

"Je...wel..."

* * *

The first thing Blu took notice of when he came back to his senses was that the piercing pain in his skull did not fade away in the slightest. It practically felt like a huge stone tried to squash his head and almost succeeded. He blinked his eyes a few times to see familiar surroundings around him. Upon further investigation, he realized he was actually at the aviary he and Jewel met in, lying on a little bed Tulio used for sick or injured birds.

"Blu! You're alive!" exclaimed Tye with a bright smile on his beak.

"Are you okay?" Coco asked as he took the macaw's wing in his own.

"Tye said you guys got attacked by a crazy snake!" Pedro said with jumping in Blu's face.

"Is that true? And was this snake really a gal?" Nico asked, pushing his best friend a bit.

All those questions caused his already injured head to ache even more. He groaned and attempted to tell them to stop, but much to his relief, Rafael took care of this for him. "Amigos, amigos, stop. Blu is too hurt to talk, so give him some space."

"What... happened?" Blu weakly asked.

"That crazy snake girl knocked you out cold after attacking me," Tye started his explanation. "After this, she walked into some sort of portal with Jewel and disappeared. I tried to stop them with my boomerang, but I wasn't fast enough. Before doing anything else, I needed to get you medical attention or you would have bled to death. Luckily, I met Rafael and Coco while carrying you toward the aviary and they helped me getting you where you are right now."

"That's a good thing; if Tye would have done this alone, we wouldn't have gotten you here in time," Coco pointed out.

"I couldn't do anything to save Jewel, Blu. I'm sorry," Tye said with looking down.

Blu sighed sadly. "It wasn't your fault, Tye. You did what you could and I'm grateful you did."

"But what are we gonna do now?" Coco asked. "Jewel got captured again right after we saved her from those smugglers. Does this mean we have to go on another rescue quest?"

"I'd like to say yes, but...," Tye said. "Last time, we knew where to go because you took a picture at the right moment, which gave us the clues we needed. But this time, she just disappeared into some sort of portal with that snake girl and we don't have a clue where they went."

He was right. It was the first time Blu ever saw a portal like this - except in movies and video games of course. If he wasn't in such an urgent situation, he would probably be excited and in a desire to study this phenomenon. But his mate has been captured once again and he needed to save her before anything would happen to her.

Then, before anyone could come up with a suggestion, a portal exactly like the one Jewel and Shanti disappeared into appeared at the other end of the bed. This caused the avians to jump in surprise and back away from it. Did the snake decided to come back and kill them all? No, the figure that walked out of it and onto the end of the bed was different. A bird.

A male raven. His feathers were a pitch black and bright red on top of his head, around his green eyes, and on the tips of his wings and tail. He had the unusual feature of wearing clothes in the form of a red scarf around his neck and a strap around his waist. Tied to this strap were a few items that looked like scrolls used in China and Japan to deliver messages.

"Wow, been a while since I've taken this form," he mumbled to himself while looking at his body as if it was the first time he ever saw it. He soon took notice of the six other birds staring at him in shock. "Oh, greetings, young folks," he said with bowing in respect. "I'm sorry for not noticing you earlier."

"W-Who are you?" Nico asked while hiding behind Rafael's leg.

"Are that snake girl's friend?" Pedro asked while doing the same as his best friend.

"Snake girl?" the raven asked with blinking his eyes. "You folks saw the Snake Queen?"

"Yes, that's how she called herself," Blu confirmed. "She's the one who did this to me," he said with pointing a wing at his bandaged head.

"Of course she did," the raven said with rolling his eyes and approached the Spix's macaw. The avians thought he wasn't hostile, but Tye still prepared his boomerang just in case. The raven reached for a scroll around his waist, a green one, which he unrolled and held one wing near Blu's head while reading it.

_"Watashi no zen'i no chikara ni yori,_

_Watashi no tamashī no yoi enerugī o kare no karada ni utsushimasu._

_Butsuri-tekina sekai no genkai o uchiyaburu,_

_Soshite, kono mazushī seishin o itami no sekai kara sukui nasai!"_

A green light glowed from the raven's wing and seemed to drain away the pain from Blu's wound. When he stopped, the pain completely faded away. The macaw dared remove his bandage to touch his head... and discover that the wound disappeared - as if it never existed! "H-How did you do that?!"

"It's a healing spell. A low-class one because your injury wasn't too bad." The raven rolled his scroll and pulled it back to his strap. "Oh, where are my manners? My name is Karasu Tengu."

**Author's note: Jewel has been captured again. Not by smugglers, but by this mysterious Shanti called the Snake Queen. I can't help but have the feeling that I'm making Jewel too much of a damsel in distress character. Let me know if this becomes a problem.**

**"Karasu Tengu" is the name of a creature from Japanese folklore. I don't know everything about it, but you should definitely go read about the subject.**

**As always, constructive reviews are welcome and may the gods watch over you all.**


	4. A huge week ahead

**Author's note: Before we start this chapter, I'd like to express my gratitude toward author OrangeMacawWorld who has given me a whole lot of tricks and advice to help me make my writing better than before. I don't know if this chapter will meet your expectations, but know that I did my best.**

A storm of questions raged within Blu's mind, causing his already strong nervosity to somehow feel even worse. This morning started like any other else with him and Jewel waking up, eating fruits, and playing games. Now, his mate got brainwashed by a snake, his skull got broken in half, and some sort of Japanese raven coming from another world arrived in the aviary to heal his wound with magical powers. This brought a simple question into Blu's head: what was going on?!

"Do you people have any tea? I'm a bit thirsty and could clear my throat," the raven named Karasu Tengu demanded with looking at the six birds sitting before him. He requested that they all sit down so that they could speak clearly about the situation.

"T?" Pedro asked. He then chuckled a bit. "Dude, t is a letter; it's not something you can drink." This earned him a nudge from his canary friend.

"No, Pedro. Tea is a human drink of hot water mixed with a special flavor. It's very popular in Asian countries like Japan, China, and India," Blu explained his cardinal friend before looking back at the raven. "But say, are you from Japan or something?"

"Japan?" Karasu rubbed his chin with a wing while looking at the ceiling as if to think. "This must be your world's equivalent to the Feudal Providence..."

"Feudal what now?"

"It's nothing, don't worry," Karasu assured with giving a wave of his wing. "I have come here looking for a dangerous snake posessing hypnotic powers. You said you have seen her, right? What can you tell me?"

"Well, I don't know if she had hypnotic powers, but..." Blu looked down, searching in his mind for all the details he could remember. "When I saw my mate with this snake, I... She wasn't herself, the look in her eyes was different and she even attacked me. The snake told me her name, but I'm not sure I remember it... Uh... It was something like Sharry or-"

"Shanti?!" Karasu suddenly asked, a look of surprise appearing on his face.

"Yes, that's it! Shanti!" Blu confirmed.

"Then there is no doubt; this snake you met is the one I am after." Karasu pulled his wings on Blu's shoulders, giving him the most serious of looks. "You need to tell me where she has gone to; I must stop her before she kidnaps someone."

"It's too late," Tye replied with looking down. "She has brainwashed Blu's mate and disappeared into some kind of portal - the same one you just came out of."

"Crap! I'm too late!" Karasu grumbled to himself, clutching his wing like a fist. He gave another serious look to the six avians. "I'm sorry, but I need to go now."

"Go where?" Rafael asked.

"Back to my world." Standing up on the bed, the raven turned in the opposite direction from the others and grabbed a scroll from his strap.

What? Karasu Tengu could not leave just like that. Jewel got brainwashed and captured by this Snake Queen, who took her to another world. This bird explicitly told them that he knew why she did this and where she left to. No, Blu would not let him leave like this before getting an explanation. "Wait!" the blue bird said, reaching a wing to grab the raven's shoulder and make him turn toward him. "You can't leave now. You must tell us who that Shanti is and what she wants from Jewel."

"Please, this does not concern you. This is business of my world and-"

Blu's patience level reached its limits. Anger boiled up inside him and he could almost feel steam coming out from his ears. "This doesn't concern me?! This is not my business?!" he practically yelled, gripping the raven even harder. "My mate got abducted by a reptile from another world and could be in danger! So it _does_ concern and it _is_ my business, you hear me?!"

Blu's friends backed off a little bit, looks of shock and surprise on their faces. It wasn't like him to get mad like this; he was always calm and collected if a little scared by moment. But they never saw him losing his patience and screaming in anger like this.

Karasu seemed to have understood the macaw would not give up until he received an explanation as he let out a sigh and gently removed the wings from his shoulders. "Very well, if you insist, I will answer your questions. Please, sit down." After everyone once again sat on their rear, knees in Karasu's case, the black bird started his explanation.

"Have you folks ever seen magic in your life - don't tell me about these shows with people wearing hats and pulling flowers out of their sticks: these are fake." The birds exchanged glances before looking back at the raven and shaking their heads in unison. "Of course not. This is because magic does not exist in your world. So how did I manage to heal your wound earlier, you ask? The answer is simple: I come from another world."

Karasu's explanation brought more questions than answers. Another world? Like an alternate dimension? One where snakes could hypnotize people as they wished and turn them into slaves? One where ravens could magically heal broken skulls?

"My world is a huge continent called the Animal Kingdom," Karasu continued. "As the name suggests, it is a continent populated only with animals. Humans do not exist in this world."

"Really? They occupy so much of the planet that it's a bit hard to imagine a world without them," Coco remarked with rubbing the back of his head.

"I have no doubt it must be," Karasu assured with a little chuckle. "Moving on, my world is vastly different from yours because not only are humans non-existent, but it is dominated by animals and magic exists within it. In addition, we also have the technology required to travel from one world to another, which is how Shanti and I were able to come into your world."

"Wait, wait, wait a minute," Tye cut him off. "You're telling us that in addition to your world, there are other existing ones as well?"

"Indeed, my friend. There is an infinity of other worlds existing outside of yours and mine. Whether it's an alternate version of an already existing reality or an entirely different world altogether."

Blu blinked his hazel eyes at this. So, if what this raven said was true, then the Multiverse Theory was real? If Jewel had not been kidnapped, Blu would have probably been overcome with joy and exultation at such a scientific discovery. "That's good and all, but it doesn't really explain with this snake came to take Jewel away," Tye pointed out.

"Yes, I was coming to that point. You see, Shanti is not called the Snake Queen for nothing; she is the governor of an important city in a country called the Oriental Providence. This city's name is Kambuzia and is forbidden to all men. Only women are allowed within the city's wall."

"Eh...? Are you serious?" Pedro dully asked. "There's a huge city in your world and it is inhabited ONLY by gals?" A little grin formed on his black beak. "Interesting... VERY interesting." He rubbed his wings together and shared his malicious expression with Nico who returned it.

"You guys are creeps," Coco commented with rubbing his forehead.

"But why are they refusing to let men in their city? Men are not THAT disgusting now, are they?" Rafael asked.

"It's a long story. But to make it short, the people of Kambuzia have suffered a lot in the past because of men which have caused them to develop a ruthless and aggressive hate toward anything of the masculine gender. Of course, they are allowed to venture outside their city to find males with whom they can reproduce and ensure the future of their city. But as you probably guessed, they only keep the girls and get rid of the boys."

"As the leader of this city, Shanti wants her warriors to be strong so that they can fight back against any 'men' who would want to annihliate their city in the future. She is even willing to go as far as traveling from one world to the other and recruit females to join her army. And by recruiting, I mean brainwashing with her hypnotic powers." Karasu rubbed his chin a bit. "Before she came here, I heard her expressing her desire to have a new commander in her army. I guess this is the reason why she came here."

Coco blinked his eyes at the raven. "So... A snake queen from another world came to brainwash Jewel and she will now command an army consisting only of girls?" he resumed.

"Well, to make it short, yes," the raven confirmed with a nod of his head.

Blu felt more disturbed and worried now than ever. Sure, it was a relief to know that Shanti had no plan on harming Jewel, but he didn't want her to become a mindless warrior hurting people for no reasons. "How can we get her back?"

"We?" Karasu asked. "What do you mean? I will not bring you with me; it's far too dangerous."

Reaching the limit of his patience, Blu once again grabbed the raven by the shoulders, giving him the most serious of looks. "Listen to me, Karasu. My mate got captured and taken away from me; I will NOT just sit around and do nothing! I don't care what the dangers are: I only braced many ones in the past for Jewel and I will do it again - as many times as necessary for her safety! Let me put this simply: You will NOT leave our world without ME! Understood?"

All the avians in the room widened their eyes and backed off once again. If one's anger could create a storm, than the aviary would have been destroyed at this very moment. Karasu seemed to have understood that he would not return back to his world without Blu as he let out a defeated sigh. "Very well, if you insist, then I cannot change your mind. I accept to bring you with me to the Animal Kingdom."

"I'm coming too." Blu turned around to see Tye approaching and putting a wing on his shoulder. "Maybe I cannot change your mind about this, but I will not let you go alone."

"Me too, me too!" Coco said. "If the three of us managed to save Jewel once, then I don't see why we can't do it again. And besides...," he lifted his camera with a bright smile, "I really wanna see this world and take pictures of it!"

"In that case, we'll be tagging along too," Pedro declared, speaking for Nico and himself.

"Yeah, Jewel is our sister! Birds of a feather need to stick together!" the canary added, holding a wing to his chest.

"Are you really concerned for Jewel's safety or are you doing this just to see the city full of girls?" Tye asked, crossing his wings and raising an eyebrow.

"For Jewel, of course! How can you doubt our loyalty to our friends?" Pedro asked, looking insulted... before silently snickering with Nico. This made the Eclectus parrot roll his eyes.

"But who is gonna run the club while you're gone?" Rafael asked his two friends.

"We already gave the commands to Luiz; he has huge party plans for the next two weeks," Nico explained. "I hope for him that the club will still be in one piece when we come back," he added under his breath.

"What about you, Rafael? Are you gonna come?" Coco asked his toucan friend who rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know, Coco. Don't get me wrong; I worry for Jewel's safety, but Eva needs me for the kids. It already drained a lot out of her to take care of them while I left to help Blu and Jewel with their chains."

"Just try to charm her and ask the help from friends; I'm sure she'll understand if it's for Jewel's safety," Coco tried to convince him.

"You don't know Eva, Coco," Rafael and Blu told him at the same time.

Karasu looked at all the birds. "I'm gonna lead a whole squadron of birds into the Oriental Providence to rescue a girl? This should be quite the challenge. But tell me, you folks have experience in self-defense, right?"

"Well, I know how to shoot with a slingshot. I learned it a few weeks ago," Blu explained.

"Not to show-off, but I'm the most experienced fighter in this room. I have hunter skills and I know my way around with a boomerang," Tye said, holding his head high with pride.

"I'm not a great fighter. I'm good for taking pictures and going around unnoticed, though," Coco told the raven with an innocent smile.

"Nico and I know how to fight; we knocked a bunch of unhappy monkeys not too long ago," Pedro declared, throwing his wings forward like a boxer.

"Yup. You won't find anyone capable of throwing a disc the way I can," the little yellow bird affirmed with spinning his bottle cap on his wing.

"I did knock a few hostile animals out with my beak," Rafael simply said.

Karasu looked at all of them for a few seconds before placing his wings on his hips and shaking his head. "No, no, no. That won't do it. We're going into a city with very hostile warriors who can kill you in an instant just for the crime of having a masculine figure. If you want to come with me, you're gonna need to be able to defend yourself."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Coco asked.

"It's simple; you will all spend the next week learning to defend yourselves in the way that suits you the most. Once the week will be passed, we will leave for the Oriental Providence and whether you are ready or not depends entirely of you."

"What?! We can't waste a full week like this!" Blu exclaimed in protestation. "We must go and save Jewel as soon as-"

"Blu, I understand your concern, but remember that Jewel is not in harm's way per say. Shanti has not intention of hurting her which means that we have all the time we need to get ready. Besides, you guys have more chance of helping me if you're alive than dead."

Blu was about to argue again... but then closed his beak. Karasu was right. Even if Jewel had been captured, he could take the time to learn what he needed to survive. He wanted his mate to be safe and would do what he needed to. "So, what should I do to be able to defend myself better?"

Tye suddenly came beside Blu, wrapping a wing around his shoulders. "I think I know _exactly_ the solution, Blue Boy. You see, I have a friend who is an expert in self-defense and I think I might just be able to convince him to teach you a thing or two."

"Really?"

"Yes. And since we have only one week ahead us, I suggest you and I go see him at this very moment, so that we can start your training as soon as possible."

#

After Nico and Pedro agreed to let Karasu stay at their club for the week, Rafael departed to go tell Eva about the situation. Blu and Tye, meanwhile, left to go meet the latter's friend who could help Blu in getting better at defending himself. The Spix's macaw had hoped his friend would be in the city where they could train safely, but they were heading in the rainforest, so that was most unlikely.

"So who's that friend you told me about? Has he been living in Rio for a long time?" Blu asked his Eclectus parrot friend as they landed on the forest floor and started walking instead of flying.

"All of his life. He was born and grew up here." As he walked, Tye looked all around him to make sure they were heading in the right direction. It was a part of the forest Blu never visited before, probably explaining why he never met Tye's friend before. "He might be a bit greedy and arrogant by moment, but he has a good heart inside. And he's an excellent Capoeira fighter."

"Wait, we're going to see your friend so that I can learn Capoeira?" Blu asked, bending his head to duck a branch his Eclectus parrot friend pushed on the way.

"Yup. I know you might not have any experience with martial arts at all, but Capoeira is special: it combines fighting AND dancing. Since you're a pretty good dancer, you just need to figure out the fighting part."

"You do know I only learned to dance a few weeks ago, right?"

Before he could reply his friend, the Eclectus parrot found himself ducking out of reflex to avoid a figure that came darting out of nowhere like a rocket. Jumping in surprise, Blu raised his gaze to see multiple figures coming down from the trees around them. These figures were small, primate-like and furry. Only when they reached the forest floor did Blu realize these creatures were marmosets.

Wait a minute. Marmosets? Just like the ones who attacked Nico and Pedro's samba club because they wanted to capture Blu and Jewel?

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Blu and Tye turned around to see a particular marmoset stepping forward with two other ones at his sides, looking like bodyguards. Unlike the other marmosets whose fur was gray, this one's was nut-brown. He also wore golden jewelry in the form of a watch around his waist and bracelets on his wrists.

The look of surprise he gave reflected perfectly that of Blu. "Y-You?!"

"And you?!" Blu exclaimed back.

"Hey, Mauro, what's up?" Tye asked with a smile.


	5. Blu's training begins

"Well, that was... unexpected," Blu nervously remarked as he hid behind Tye to try and avoid the brown marmoset's furious glance.

Tye looked alternately at the angry primate and the nervous macaw behind him with a confused expression. "Wait a minute. You guys know each other?"

"If we know each other?!" Mauro exclaimed in the maddest tone he could take before pointing an accusing finger at the blue bird. "This guy hiding behind you hit me in the jewels with a metal chain, barely a few weeks ago!"

"Huh, for my defense, you knocked me down before that, and it wasn't me who hit you; Jewel did," Blu said in a defensive tone as he looked over Tye's shoulder.

The Eclectus parrot blinked his orange eyes a few times. "Wait... Blu hit you... in the jewels?" He suddenly broke into a fit of laughters, clutching his sides with his wings. "OH MY GOSH! THAT MUST HAVE HURT LIKE IT SHOULDN'T BE POSSIBLE!" He then wrapped a wing around Blu's shoulders. "What was his face like? I'm sure it must have been priceless!"

Blu just gave him a nervous smile while Mauro crossed his arms with an annoyed frown. He looked like he would jump on the Eclectus parrot and tear him to shreds. "Stop mocking me! Why have you come here, Tye?"

The green bird's laughing wave came to an end and he wiped away a tear from his eyes before clearing his throat and looking at the simian. "Sorry, sorry. But seriously, why did you hit him in the jewels," Tye marked a pause to hold back another fit of laughters, "Blu?"

"That's a long story. But to make it short, it happened when Jewel and I were chained to each other. Rafael led us to Nico and Pedro's dancing club, and then, these primates came to attack us because they wanted to capture Jewel and I." Blu crossed his wings, giving a grudging look at Mauro. "You can't really blame Jewel for hitting you in the... crotch after you destroyed our friends' club just to capture us."

"Hey, hey, slow down, feather head," Mauro replied, rising his hands in defense. "I didn't really have a choice. That crazy cockatoo guy forced me and the boys to capture you for him or we would have received a special flight which we wouldn't have recovered from."

"But Nigel is not here anymore, so you don't have any reason to be at each other's throat any longer now." Tye wrapped a wing around Blu and Mauro's shoulders, bringing them closer. "Come on, guys. I suggest we pull your little differences behind and start everything over. We need your help, Mauro."

The primate stared at the two parrots for a few seconds before letting out a little sigh. "Alright, what do you need my help with, Tye?"

"Okay, you remember that girl who (he fought to keep his urge to laugh again inside) hit you in the jewels? Well, she has been captured today and Blu, myself, and many of our friends are organizing a rescue party to go save her. I'm not asking you to join us, but Blu needs to learn how to defend himself. Do you think you could teach him Capoeira?"

Mauro blinked his brown eyes before turning to Blu. He started walking around the blue bird, looking at his body from every angle and rubbing his chin, before stopping in front of him. "Capoeira, huh? I don't know, this pal doesn't seem to be fit for that very complex martial art."

"Hey! I may not be a cage fighter like those on television, but I'm not that bad either," Blu declared, speaking high for himself.

Mauro shook his head and clicked his tongue. "No offense, my little blue feather bag, but I can tell just by looking at you that it will take some serious work just to get you in shape." He looked back at Tye. "And what will I get in return for turning this macaw into a true Capoeira master?"

"I will get you three cans of the soda you like so much from the human market."

Mauro rubbed his chin for a moment before giving his answer. "Make that five and you've got a deal."

"Cool! Thanks for your help, pal. I won't forget it," Tye assured, giving the simian a pat on the shoulder. He then turned around and walked past Blu. "I'll go see if Rafael has convinced Eva to let him come with us. After that, I'll go see how Karasu settles in his new residence."

Tye opened his wings and took off, leaving Bu alone with the primates. Before he could say anything, Mauro grabbed him by the feathers of the neck and brought him to his face. "Listen up, cerulean birdie, just because Tye is my friend doesn't mean I'm gonna hold back with you. When we'll be done with your training, you will feel tired as if you had run a marathon and your whole body will ache. Understood?"

Blu gulped and, realizing it was better not to give a stupid answer, nodded his head a bit too fast. This wasn't going to be a part of fun at all...

#

Mauro led his feathered guest into a part of the forest, this last one assumed was his hideout, and it was time to start the training. The place was quite big with many marmosets either dancing, fighting, or 'monkeying' around. There were many human objects around such as shoes, food, and mostly jewels. It didn't take a genius to understand these had been stolen.

After asking his friends to leave them, Blu and Mauro stood in the middle of the open area with the other marmosets staying far enough and minding their own business as to not disturb their leader. "Do you know what Capoeira is, young macaw?" Blu sure did; he has read a few books about martial arts back in Minnesota and watched some Kung Fu movies as well. Before he could answer, Mauro started talking again.

"Capoeira is a martial art that combines elements of fight, acrobatics, music, dance and rituals in a very elegant and magnetic way. It is a very ancient art that have existed for many generations. Learning it is no easy task, but the reward is totally worth it. Are you ready to learn it?"

Blu cracked his neck and gave a firm nod. "Yes, I am." Mauro suddenly crouched down and performed a spin kick to sweep Blu off his talons and onto his back. He groaned, holding the back of his head in pain. "Hey! Why did you do that?"

"If you really want to become a martial art master, you must never let your guard down," Maura explained with a grin, earning chuckles from his primate friends who watched. "A true Capoeira master must be ready for anything."

"Good thing to know," Blu sarcastically replied as he pulled himself back up, dusting his feathers off. "So, what's my first lesson?"

"Capoeira is based on four fundamental elements that must be considered with importance: stance, offense, defense, and mobility. We're gonna start with same basic movements so that you can move on to harder exercises after working them out. So let's get to work."

Mauro stretched his legs away from each other. "This stance is called paralela. You need to stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders and keep your back straight." The brown marmoset then bent himself forward. "Slightly bend your knees, but remain loose and relax, okay? To give you an idea of what's in for you, 90 percent of the moves start from this position. Understood?"

Receiving a nod from his student, Mauro lifted one arm to his head level. "Use your arms - or in this case, wings - to protect yourself while staying loose and relax." The primate then started moving his legs in a special way to pull his body from right to left and from left to right. "This second stance to called ginga. As you have probably heard, Capoeira is based on agility and the capacity to never stop moving."

"Ginga is the dynamic stance. Its goal is to work both sides of the body equally." While moving, switching his arms along with each side, he turned his head to look at his student. "If you want this stance to work, you need to be fluid as it requires a lot of work and energy." He eventually came to a stop. "Now, try to perform those two stances, paralela and ginga. And be careful not to cross your legs behind you with the second."

Nodding, Blu followed his teacher's instructions. He started by taking a deep inspiration followed by an expiration to relax his body and stretched his legs as far as he could from each other. This part was not easy for a bird like him. He gently bent his knees forward and then rose his right wing up to his head level for protection. If his legs could not stretch as far as Mauro's, his bigger wings would definitely offer more protection.

"Your back is leaning forward. Pull it straight or your stance won't work," Mauro ordered his student.

The Spix's macaw tensed his muscles a bit to force his back to stay straight. How his teacher could remain relaxed while in this position escaped him. Maybe it would come with time and practice. It was time to switch to ginga, he used his feet to pull himself left to right and right to left, just like Mauro did. He rose one wing after the other while making sure to switch his weight between the stances. It took him a moment, but he ended up getting the hang of it.

Mauro seemed surprised to see the bird who did not pull a fight at the samba club's battle getting the hang of this stance so soon. Blu couldn't help but feel a bit of pride. While it was true that he was more of a nerdy bird, that didn't stop him from practicing some physical activities as well. Back in Minnesota, Linda installed rings for him to flip and swing around the house and even got him a skateboard so that he could play outside. All of this allowed him to develop a good level of agility.

"So? What's next after mastering paralela and ginga?" he asked his teacher.

"We're gonna switch to the defense part. Starting with a move called esquiva lateral. The goal is to avoid an oncoming attack by dodging low to the side. Like this." Mauro lowered his body and pulled himself to the side, standing on the ball of his foot, keeping his back straight, planting his hand on the ground, and using his other arm to protect his face.

"You need to work both sides," the little simian continued as he pulled himself in the same stance to the other side. He kept repeating this over and over again before getting back up. "Try it now."

This part was easy. Blu just did the exact same thing as his teacher, even if the part where he needed to keep his back straight gave him a bit of difficulty. To help himself, he closed his eyes and pictured Nigel diving at him with his talons open, forcing him to dodge with this new move.

"Excellent, Blu. You're learning very fast. Now, moving on to the next part..."

**Author's note: We're gonna stop there. I know you probably wanted to see more, but Blu has so much to learn that it will take more than one chapter. But hey, at least his training started.**

**For those of you who are unfamiliar, Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that Mauro and his gang used in the movie (though they didn't do it justice at all, from my point of view). It's famous for being the fighting style of Tekken character Eddy Gordo who is one of my personal favorites. I used a video from YouTuber "Official RAWTRICKS" to help me as my knowledge of this art is pretty limited.**

**An important detail I think I should mention is how I made use of Blu's agility. An overlooked detail is that Blu is a very agile bird thanks to Linda and he knows his way around with a skateboard as he has shown during the carnival. It's sad because most stories I've read on this site shows Blu as having no physical skills at all while he is actually pretty good.**

**As always, constructive reviews are welcome and may the gods watch over you all.**


	6. Time of departure

Tye flapped his wings as he hoped to reach Luiz's garage before the end of the day. He just came back from visiting Rafael and asked the old toucan if Eva accepted to let him accompany Blu's party for the rescue mission. To his surprise, the keel-billed toucan gave her permission to her mate. Apparently, Jewel was one of the very few female friends she had in the rainforest and didn't want to lose her because she would find herself with only 'masculine stupidity' in her life.

"I will never understand how Rafael fell for that girl; she's never afraid to speak her mind," the Eclectus parrot mumbled to himself.

Just a few minutes later, he landed on the ground and looked up at his destination. Luiz's garage. An old, dusty sign reading "MECANICO" stood over the three entrance doors. The one in the middle taking the form of a double fence door with the two on either sides being made of wood. Between the middle and right one stood some sort of sign with a black 'E' which was cut by a red line. Tye never knew what it was supposed to mean, but he assumed it was forbidding humans from parking their cars here.

The little green bird stepped forward, pushing the big door out of his way as he walked inside the garage. The place still looked as old and dusty with many broken cars and other tools lying around. No one would suspect that a bulldog would be living alone in such a place. But speaking of which, this bulldog in question was nowhere to be seen.

"Luiz? Where are you? I have something to ask you!" Tye called, making his voice echo through the seemingly empty garage. Oh no, did Luiz already left to the samba club for the week?

As if on cue, the side door of a broken car shot open and out of it leaped a canine figure. In a matter of seconds, Tye found himself pinned to the floor by the huge figure, feeling like an elephant tried to squash him down. He also felt a weird warm liquid falling on the back of his head. "I gotcha, dude!" a cheery voice beamed from above. Managing to turn his head, the Eclectus parrot saw Luiz looking down at him with a smile. "You didn't see me coming, did you?"

"Luiz! Get off me now!" Tye ordered while squirming under the bulldog's weight. He complied, moving aside and allowing his guest to get back on his two feet. The avian then ran a wing through his head feathers, bringing it back all wet and sticky. Saliva, just as he feared. "Disgusting...," he mumbled with shaking the gross liquid off his wing.

"Sorry, it's a medical condition," the dog said, smiling and licking his lips. "So why have you come here? You wanna play with me before I leave for a full week?"

"Actually, I came for another reason, Luiz. I need your help with something," Tye explained with a serious look. "Rafael, Nico and Pedro told me that you're a garagist, but you also have some knowledge with crafting and Blacksmithing, right?"

"Yup," the canine confirmed with a little nod. "Many of my former owners were blacksmiths and crafters. They used to build all kinds of tools and even left me some notes and blueprints that I keep in my garage to this day. Why you asking?"

"I'd like you to build something for me." The Eclectus parrot opened his wings and flew to a little drawing board at the very end of the garage, taking a pencil and placing a white paper sheet before him. "Here, I'm gonna make you a drawing." Luiz did nothing but sit in place as his avian friend worked on his drawing. After around two minutes, he finished and flew back to show his work to the bulldog.

"Hmm... Yes, in practice, it should work," he confirmed after studying the drawing. "But I'm gonna need 1/8" x 3" x 3' of steel, steel rod, lumber, and epoxy."

"I'm gonna get all of this for you," Tye said, opening his wings and flying to the back of the garage where Luiz stocked all his equipment.

And so started a long afternoon of work for the bird and the dog. For this blade, Tye chose to keep it simple and have a larger section for weight towards the tip of the blade, and had it taper off into the handle. He made sure to tell Luiz that his weapon would be built right into the handle and asked him to not cut it short. The canine understood and cut about one half shy of the bottom of the steel for the bout at the tip, and tapered it down to one and a quarter where the blade met the handle, then continued on at another one and a quarter for five inches or so for the handle.

Tye made the outline of his blade shape on the steel and started cutting after making sure that the steel was properly secured as the last thing he wanted was to accidentally cut himself and get an infection. He and Luiz both wore safety glasses during the process.

It was now time for step number two: refining the blade.

At this point, the two friends had a rough cut of the blade and hilt. They used a sander to smooth the edges up and made everything to Tye's liking. However, they did not refine the hilt too much because they would be cutting into it again later.

Now that they had shaped the blade and hilt, it was time to add a nice handle. Lucky for them, Luiz had a slab of mahogany left over, so he cut out a block of wood, the thickness of the blade, and sliced it in half with the band saw. From there on, the bulldog thicknessed the two pieces of wood to Tye's desired thickness and sandwiched the two pieces of wood on the outside of the steel. Finally, he cut the two pieces of wood to the length of the hilt.

From here, Tye helped Luiz squaring the steel to the wood and clamping down the wood and steel. Then, they drill two holes straight through the steel and wood, making sure their drill bit was the same size as their metal rod so they could secure the handle and blade together.

Now, after drilling the two holes, the friends marked the length they would need to cut the dowel and sliced two of them. So, with all of these parts, it was time to bust out the epoxy! They slathered up the hilt of the blade with epoxy and sandwiched it between the two pieces of wood lined up with the holes they drilled. They also put some epoxy on the two dowels and pound those in. Finally, they clamped the handle in a vice and left for two hours.

"Man, crafting such a tool is harder than I thought," Tye sighed, rubbing sweat off of his forehead with his wing and drinking some water from Luiz's fridge.

"Yeah, it's not as easy as people think," the bulldog said with a chuckle, lapping his tongue into a bowl of water he made himself. "But believe me, once we'll be done, you're gonna feel VERY proud!"

Once their two hours of break came to an end, the avian and canine got back to work. Tye took the handle to the belt sander and made himself some finger slots so that he could get a good hold of it with his wing feathers. He then sanded down its smooth with 180 grit.

It was now time for the final part: giving the blade an edge. Tye and Luiz took the tool to the sander and worked on the blade to give it its ultimate, final form. Once it was done, Tye sat out of the sander as Luiz gave it its final touches. "Here it is!" the bulldog beamed, coming out with the product of their hours of work. The Eclectus parrot turned his head... and wasn't disappointed by what he saw.

A short, slim, curvy blade made of steel held by a wooden grip, modified to be held in a bird's wing. With a single, sharp edge, this weapon is ideal for both cleaving enemies as well as blocking their attacks. It can also cut easily through material such as leaves and paper. Ideal for a journey into the jungle.

"Oh my gosh! My very own weapon!" Tye beamed, grabbing his freshly forged machete into his wings and looking at it from every angle, almost with reverence. "I always dreamed to have one! This is a dream come true! I can't wait to use it for the first time!" The Eclectus parrot started swinging his machete around with excitation, almost cutting Luiz's nose in the process.

"Hey! Watch out! You almost took my nose away!" the bulldog exclaimed after jumping away from his feathered friends.

"Oh, sorry," the parrot chuckled nervously. "Thanks for your help, Luiz. Now, I just need to make myself a strap to carry this little wonder and I'll be on my way."

"No probs, Tye buddy!" the dog happily replied, licking his lips with a large smile.

* * *

"Hit harder!" Mauro ordered the Spix's macaw who tried to deliver the strongest kicks he could into a tree trunk that served as his training dummy.

A week. A full week has passed since Jewel got taken away. During this time, Blu did nothing but dedicate himself to his Capoeira training with Mauro. The primate forced him to wake up very early in the morning to get the work under way. Under normal circumstances, he would act grumpy and fight to stay for a few more minutes in his comfortable nest. However, his nest was no longer comfortable: it was empty. Not a single night passed where he slept peacefully and did not have nightmares about Jewel.

So he did not complain and fought to get stronger every day. After his first day, Mauro taught Blu new techniques. The first one was called esquiva de frente and worked pretty much like esquiva lateral, the only difference being that this one was more reactive due that he needed to dodge from the ginga. But it wasn't really hard and Blu mastered it in little to no time.

With the defense part being done, it was time for the offense part. The first technique in that department Blu had to learn was called meia lua de frente. Basically, it was like a roundhouse kick where he needed to draw an arch with his foot with his talons pointing up. Afterwards, Mauro taught him bencao which is a push kick. It looked simple at first, but in order to generate enough power, the avian needed to work a lot on the technique. He needed to push from the hips which was unusual for a bird.

Since a good part of the week passed for Blu to master all these techniques, Mauro decided to move on to the mobility part, starting with a technique called au. It was like a cartwheel and would be pretty useful if Blu needed to escape a pressuring opponent. Then came to iro roll, which combined three moves: esquiva lateral, negativa, and rolamento. Blu needed to do all of this without rushing. It was the move he had the most difficulty learning, but it would totally help him if he needed to find space in battle.

"Alright, that's enough!" Mauro announced, raising his hand to tell Blu to stop.

The macaw finally stopped, panting to regain his energy. His dark blue feathers were covered in sweat, proving all the hard work he went through. He hoped that was enough because everything he learned was all he would be able to use for Jewel's rescue mission. Today was the seventh day and Blu's friends agreed to meet tonight at the aviary where Karasu would take them all to the Animal Kingdom.

The young macaw looked up to see the sky now was auburn in color, indicating the sun was setting and the departure time was about to come. "Mauro, it's almost time for me to join my friends and leave for our rescue mission. I must go now."

"Really?" the primate asked, looking at a calender he 'burrowed' from a human and used to keep track of time. "Wow, it has already been a full week since we started training! Time sure goes fast when you have fun..."

"I wanna thank you, Mauro," Blu said in the most sincere tone he could take. "Because of your training, I might just be able to safe my mate from harms. I'm gonna forever be grateful to you. Is there any way I can repay you one day?"

Mauro rubbed his chin a little bit. "Hmm... How about you birds invite me and the boys at your next party? We saw how you do things in your club before attacking and it seemed a lot of fun."

"Sure. I don't think the guys will have any problem with that," Blu assured.

"Great. I'll see you then. Until that moment, make sure to come back in one piece, okay?" Mauro asked with giving the blue bird a nudge on the wing. "Good luck!"

With nothing left to say, the Spix's macaw opened his wings and took off to the sky. He could hear the marmosets putting the music back on and started having fun again. This made him roll his hazel eyes in amusement.

* * *

Blu made it to the aviary after many minutes of flying, sneaking inside by the air vent Jewel attempted to escape through on their first night together. The thought made his heart ache a little bit. However, he shook these thoughts out of his mind and kept advancing forward in the small passage until he reached the damaged bars and pulled himself through them to get inside the aviary.

Flapping his wings, he flew down toward the very center of the room. To his surprise, Karasu Tengu was present with all the others: Tye, Coco, Rafael, Nico, and Pedro. They were in the middle of a conversation, though Blu could not hear them. "Guys, you all came?" he asked just as his feet touched the floor to let his presence known.

"Yeah, blue boy! We were only waiting for you!" Pedro said, crossing his black wings. "Took you long enough."

"So you were all able to come?"

"Of course; we will not give up on Jewel. She's our friend, Blu!" Tye declared while Rafael mumbled something about Eva allowing him to go because she hated masculine stupidity. "Look at what Luiz helped me build this afternoon," the Eclectus parrot added with pulling a machete out of a leather strap on his lower back. "I'm gonna kick so much butt with this!"

Blu looked at Coco who held a big backpack on his back along with a fanny pack around his waist. It looked strangely familiar... Wait a minute! "Coco, is that my fanny pack that I see around your waist?"

"Sure is," the white-collared kite announced with a bright smile. "Karasu charged me to carry all of our stuff for the journey. And that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"

The Spix's macaw looked at the raven. He seemed ready with all of his scrolls tied around his waist. "I wanna thank you for helping me save my mate, Karasu. I owe you one."

"All gratitude is superfluous," the raven assured with a wave of his black and red wing. He then looked at the six birds gathered before him. "It is time for our departure to the Animal Kingdom. I have to warn you that this trip will be perilous. If any of you wants to step back, it's now or never." None of the avians moved, testifying to their words about saving their friend. Karasu couldn't help but smile a little bit. "Very well. You have to follow my instructions all the way as the slightest mistake could lead to our death."

He turned to let his back face the birds. "Time for our departure."

The black bird grabbed a scroll from his waist, unrolled it, and started speaking an incantation:

_"Ō to joō, subete junsuina kokoro o motsu mono,_

_Watashitachi no sekai o burokku shite tojiru kokkyō o koete_

_Minami no hi ga netsu o motarashimasu yō ni, _

_Soshite,-fū ga eien no samu-sa o motarasu yō ni shimashou!"_

A bright light appeared before the raven, hitting the other birds behind him in the eyes. They were forced to close them for a moment, even blocking the beam with their wings, until they got adjusted to it. Once it was done, they saw the circular shining portal Karasu used to come now standing in front of him. He turned to his comrades and motioned for them to follow him as he jumped forward, disappearing into the light.

The six birds looked at each other and exchanged silent nods of agreement. Blu stepped forward in a firm, decided manner. Exhaling a deep breath with his hazel eyes closed, he lunged forward into the portal. In a matter of seconds, he felt like he was falling into a bottomless pit, his head spinning uncontrollably.

"Here I come, Jewel..."

**Author's note: This chapter marks the end of the preparation part: the real adventure starts in the next one. I know that this chapter was nothing but Tye building his machete and Blu finishing his week of Capoeira training. But I wanted to actually _show_ where our heroes would get their stuff and learn new skills. Not just show them out of nowhere and give the explanations later, like in animes.**

**Now, you all heard about the Coronavirus situation, right? Well, because of this virus, I will not have school for the next two weeks. Therefore, since my mom doesn't want me to leave home and expose myself to the virus, I will have plenty of time to work on my projects on this site. This means I will be updating my stories more often than usual.**

**You have no idea how excited I am to show you the Animal Kingdom. I'll see you in the next chapter and may the gods watch over you all.**


	7. Arrival in the desert

Blu wasn't sure for how long he had been travelling through the portal, but he passed out at some point because of the feeling of being dragged into a typhoon. He eventually regained consciousness, feeling the terrible taste of iron in his beak and a headache making him feel like an arrow pierced his skull. Groaning, he forced his eyes open, blinking them a few times before being able to see properly. The first thing he noticed was the familiar figures over him.

"Blu? Are you okay?" Tye asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," the Spix's macaw replied, lifting his head up and trying to stand on his two legs. The Eclectus parrot offered him a wing to help him succeed. He was about to ask his friend what happened while he was out... before realizing he felt weird. And not because of the dry sand under his foot. A little gust of wind passed by and made Blu feel exposed which was unusual for a bird like him. He lowered his gaze down... and widened his hazel eyes in shock.

His body had changed. It looked like that of a human with curves, slightly longer legs, and a special... feature that birds didn't have. He rose his wings to see that they too were more human-like as his feathers became a bit harder and looked like fingers. "W-What?!" Upon finishing to inspect his new body, Blu looked up to see that this weird phenomenon wasn't happening only to him: his friends too became anthropomorphic and examined their bodies with confusion. "W-What happened?"

"I have no idea! Weird, huh?" Nico asked as he used his bottle cap to cover his nether regions.

"We all became like this when we woke up from crossing this portal," Tye said, looking at his wings while wiggling his feathered fingers like a newborn.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention," Karasu said with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head with a wing. "Unlike in your world, the people of the Animal Kingdom have anthropomorphic bodies. Our anatomy is closer to these creatures you call 'humans' and it is why we require the use of clothes."

"COULDN'T YOU HAVE TOLD US ABOUT IT BEFORE WE LEFT?!" all the avians shouted at the same time with comically embarrassed expressions on their faces.

"What are those weird things between my legs?!" Nico asked with lifting his bottle cap so that everyone could see the content behind.

"And what's that little hole in the middle of my tummy?" Pedro asked as he poked at his belly button.

"Calm down, calm down, all of you," the raven ordered, raising his two wings in defense. "Even if I had told you, what could I have done? It's not like I planned to bring six birds back to my home world and brought enough clothes for everyone. That's why you're lucky I asked Coco to bring many towels we can use as sarongs."

The white-collared kite reached into his backpack, digging his wing deeply through the endless wall of stuff, and pulled out six towels that would fit perfectly around the avians' waists. As they each took out and proceeded to wrap them up, Blu couldn't help but look at Karasu's completely dressed body. He wore some sort of black Japanese robe with red trims and black pants on his legs. In addition, his red scarf was still present, dancing elegantly in the wind.

"How is it that you are wearing clothes? You didn't have these when we were in our world."

"It's because I already wore these before crossing the portal connecting both of our worlds," the raven explained with adjusting his scarf around his neck. "Now, if you're done dressing up, I'd like to get on my way."

After getting over the whole human body thing, Blu could now expect at his surroundings. The group of avians was standing in the middle of what looked like a ravine with large walls of stone on either side of them. In addition, the ground was oddly sandy with the dry material sticking to the macaw's black feet. "Wait a minute, are we in a desert?"

"Follow me to find out," Karasu replied with stepping forward. The other six avians decided to follow him.

Discomfort squeezed the limbs of the avians as they emerged from the ravine and into a sea of sand stretching on as far as they could see. The pale color of the sand was enough to strain their eyes, and the powerful sun did not help in that regard either. The temperature was far from being pleasant. Blu could tell the heat was stronger than Rio's - maybe by 15%. Even Rafael, Nico, and Pedro, whom were all born in Brazil, found the high temperature hard to tolerate.

"Please, for the love of samba, don't tell me we're gonna have to cross this burning hell," Pedro begged the raven with his brown eyes wide open in shock.

"I'm afraid we will have to, my young friend," Karasu replied with an amused look at the cardinal's reaction. "Do not worry; we have brought enough water and there is a little oasis not too far from here. If we go now, we should arrive in one hour. Let's go."

The shadows cast by the towering canyon covered the group of avians for a moment before they ended up walking out into the bright sun... and the difference was immediately felt. All at once, the birds' feathers became uncomfortably wet with sweat and their feet felt as if they were walking on hot coals. Karasu's robes and pants were getting stuck against his feathers, but at the very least, they protected him from the rays of the sun while the others had to endure them - and they felt like needles piercing their skin through their feathers.

"I never thought I would say this one day... but it's toooooo hoooot!" Pedro sighed in exhaustion.

"Well, imagine how hard it's for me," Blu sarcastically said while trying to fan himself with his wing. "I'm from Minnesota, which is one of the coldest places on earth..."

"How far is it yet?" the cardinal asked their raven guide.

"We have been walking for only five minutes, Pedro," Karasu pointed out with an unimpressed expression. "If you keep complaining during all that time, it's gonna be a long journey. So I suggest you stop complaining and walk more or this desert could very well become our tombs."

... Pedro decided to shut up.

#

As they continued, the birds' breaths became heavier to the point of sounding like dog panting and cramps pierced their legs from not being used to walk such long distances. They would have loved to get something else to focus their attention on during the walk, but the lifeless environment made it impossible with nothing but a seemingly endless floor of sand and dry wind hitting their ears.

"Here we are!" Karasu announced after a full hour of walking. They indeed arrived before what looked like an oasis with small houses and animals going around. "My friends, welcome to the Alexandria Bazaar."

The birds of the human world mentally thanked the gods as the temperature was more bearable here, in part due to the palm trees casting shadows against the powerful sun. As the group walked by a pond by the bazaar, the birds were unable to resist the temptation to jump in the water and cool themselves. "Oh yeah! That feels so good!" Tye beamed as he splashed the cool water all over his face and shoulders.

Once they felt relieved enough, Blu, Tye, Coco, Rafael, Nico and Pedro left the pond, their feathers and sarongs all soaked. Karasu was waiting for them with his wings crossed and his face reflecting an amused expression. "You feel better now?"

"A LOT better!" Tye happily as he shook some water off himself. "After walking forever in such a burning hell, this pond is nothing short of heaven!"

"And I thought birds from Australia were strong against heat...," Coco mumbled to himself while rubbing the back of his head.

Karasu then started a little shopping session for the birds, starting by buying them actual clothes that would help them survive the desert's heat. The feeling of wearing clothes was both alien and a bit familiar for the birds. But the most important part was that they would be shielded from the sun's power. Afterwards, the ninja raven brought them to eat a little something so that they could plan their rescue mission without empty stomachs.

Blu and Tye's eyes widened, saliva flowing out of their beaks as they stared at the food served to them. Massive platters set up with fruits, slices of bread, cooked and seasoned fishes, and even bowls of rice and salads. It looked absolutely... delicious. While Karasu took a moment to mumble a prayer and used a spoon to eat, the others dug into their meals with no restraint and no manners. This caused the other animals around them to look in surprise. In normal times, Blu would have been more polite, but hunger and thirst prevented him from thinking straight.

"Try to make sure to eat a lot of these. They will help you enduring the heat of the desert," Karasu said with taking some sort of watermelon whose surface was light blue and the interior being pink.

"What fruit is that? I've never seen it before," Blu remarked with curiously eyeing the foreign food.

"It's called an ice melon. They are fruits that are resilient enough to flourish even in the heat of the desert. They contain a hydrating flesh that provides a cooling effect to whoever consumes it and can help resist high temperatures. They grow only near oasises in the Oriental Providence," Karasu explained as he started chewing on the fruit. "We should eat some of them if we are to survive in this desert."

"Aww, that hits the spot," Tye sighed as he patted his now round stomach and let out a loud burp. "Now that I'm full, I'd like to talk about the plan, Karasu. What did you have in mind?"

As a response, the raven pulled the now empty platters away and unrolled a map tied to his waist on the table. The piece of paper was so big that it couldn't entirely fit on the table, so Karasu simply displayed the desert they were currently in. The name "ORIENTAL PROVIDENCE" was written in black on the very middle of the drawing. Blu couldn't but notice that this looked like the kind of map you could see in medieval movies with stylish writing on the places and countries as well as a unique type of drawing of the whole continent.

"Here's our current position," Karasu said with pointing a black feather on a little spot reading "ALEXANDRIA OASIS". He then pointed at another spot displaying the drawing of a city on the coast of the ocean. "Kambuzia, the city Shanti is ruler of, is located here, on the west coast. As you can see, it's pretty far and will take us at least two days to reach. If we stock enough food and water, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Where are the problems?" Rafael asked, feeling the easy part was about to be done.

"The city of Kambuzia is heavily-guarded: we won't be able to get near Jewel, let alone Shanti without having to face her guards and soldiers."

"No problem; I'm sure you can take care of them with your magic tricks," Nico said with a wave of his wing.

"Defeating all of Shanti's guards by myself?" the raven asked with a shocked look. "I think you're overestimating me a little too much there, my friend. I might be strong with magic, but I don't have unlimited energy. And besides, Shanti has hypnotic powers that I am not immune against. Unless all of you are strong enough to take on females who have spent all their lives training in the art of combat, we won't be able to get your mate out of there."

"So what do you suggest we do then?" Blu asked, not liking how slim their chances of success were.

The raven rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking about their options. "Hmm... There might be a solution. I have a friend who has plenty of friends in another oasis located east. However, it is one day away from here. Going there and recruit them could take some time. The problem is that I'd like to put the plan in motion as soon as possible."

"I think I might have an idea, Karasu," Tye suddenly said with raising his wing. "We could split the group into two parties: one goes to get backup while the other gets to Kambuzia and get on a recon mission to learn what we will be up against in the city."

"... Actually, that's not a bad idea," Karasu admitted before giving a thoughtful look once again. "The problem is that you guys don't know anything about Kambuzia - or about the Animal Kingdom in general - and my friend will not accept to come unless I ask him in person. I cannot be at two places at the same time."

"I have an idea for this," Tye once again said with a smile. "You can go to get your friends while I lead a party to Kambuzia. I may not know anything about your world, but I'm a great hunter and marksman. We'll get in the city, gather all the information we'll need, and then wait for your party to return so that we can get in action."

"That's pretty risky, Tye. Are you sure you wanna take that risk?" Karasu asked.

"Absolutely. It's for Jewel, so it's totally worth it," the Eclectus parrot affirmed with determination. "Now we just need to know who's gonna be in which party."

"I'm coming with you," Blu almost instantly said. "Jewel's in Kambuzia, so that's where I'm going." The Spix's macaw then realized a detail. "But you said that we would be splitting the team in half, right? We're seven; half of seven is three and a half."

"... That's true," Tye admitted with rubbing the back of his head, feeling a bit sheepish.

Karasu sighed. "Okay, Rafael, Coco, you two will be coming with me. Blu, Nico, Pedro, you will go with Tye at Kambuzia. Be sure to remain stealthy and do not let anyone see you, or you will get executed on the spot without second thoughts. Understood?"

"Alright! Let's do this!" Tye beamed with grabbing his machete and planting it on the part of the map that displayed Kambuzia.

"HEY! DON'T PULL HOLES IN MY MAP!" Karasu angrily yelled.

**Author's note: I would like to apologize for not touching this story in a full week; I first wanted to finish my Kung Fu Panda story "The Frog Dojo" before coming back to this one. The positive point is that it allowed me to think and plan things ahead for this story. The humanoid design for the birds is inspired by that of the Rito from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, to give you an idea.**

**This whole Coronavirus situation is getting me crazy; I haven't had any outside activity to do for over a week... AND I REALLY WANT A HAMBURGER!**


	8. Journey to Kambuzia

**Author's note: Before we start this chapter, I'd like to answer** **Arika Koski's question. It would be rated PG-13.**

After cutting their supplies in equal parts, Tye and Karasu's groups parted ways in the Alexandria Bazaar, the former heading west and the latter going east. The ninja raven instructed the Eclectus parrot to follow a road in the sand that connected Kambuzia and the other major city of the country, Parushta. The last thing he could do was to wish them good luck and remind them to be careful before going on.

The four birds flew along the barely noticeable road traced in the sand toward their destination. Tye was leading the way with Blu, Nico and Pedro following closely behind. Much to the Eclectus parrot's joy, Nico and Pedro stopped complaining about the heat. The ice melons really did help as Karasu's said they would.

"I can't wait to reach this infamous amazon city, guys!" Nico said with adjusting his bottle cap like a hat. "There's gonna be some hot chicks everywhere for all of us!"

"Don't get too excited, Nico. Remember that we're not going there on a vacation, but on a rescue mission to get Jewel back from a crazy snake and that getting caught will surely result in us getting killed. So please, be careful, would ya?" Tye asked the canary over his shoulder.

Tye led the crew through the scorching hot desert, coming across the occasional plant that dotted the dunes. The ice melons' effect started fading away as the birds were getting hot, dry and tired - and they had been flying only for a few hours. Nico tried to use his bottle cap to fan himself, but with very little success.

Tye eventually turned around to encourage the others. "Come on, guys. We can make it to Kambuzia if we keep pushing forward. We just need to stick together."

"If I sweat any more, sticking together won't be a problem," Blu remarked as he showed his wing drenched in sweat.

"Tye, can I have some water?" the little canary asked with a begging look.

"Okay, but we've got to try to conserve it, or we'll run out before reaching Kambuzia," the Eclectus parrot responded as took his water bag and gave it to Nico. The little yellow bird sneaked his little beak inside and sucked as much water as he could without going beyond what was necessary. He then offered it to Pedro, who needed to take a little more due to his large stomach. The cardinal smacked his beak like lips with a displeased expression.

"Sorry, guys, but that's all we have," Blu said as he took the bag and drank two sips out of it.

"Not anymore! Look!" The three friends turned to see Tye flying his way down over a cactus. "My friend told me that cactuses in deserts like this one contain water: this is our lucky day! Good thing I made this little wonder with Luiz before departing," the parrot declared as he grabbed his machete and sliced a piece off, draining its liquid into his beak.

"Huh, you should be careful with that, Tye," Blu warned. "I've read in a book that some cactuses contain strong hallucinogens that can affect the mind - even that of a bird."

"Don't worry, Blu. The day I will get afraid of some cactus juice, I will no longer deserve to be called Tye The Warrior," the Eclectus parrot declared with a grin as he took another sip of the cactus juice. Suddenly, his orange eyes dilated, his expression becoming blank as if he saw a ghost.

"Huh... Tye, are you okay?" Nico asked, wondering why his friend's expression changed like this.

The green bird then started swinging from one side to the other like a bird who came out of a rollercoaster, giggling a bit too. "Hey, w-why is the sky green all of a sudden? I-Is that some sort of phenomenon Karasu didn't tell us about?" he asked with looking blankly at the sky.

"... Guys, I think we've lost Tye," Nico said with exchanging a worried gaze with his best friend.

Blu sighed and rubbed his eyes in frustration. They had been flying for hours, Blu felt tired, and his worry for Jewel only grew up by the minutes: he now needed to deal with a drunk parrot too. Could this day get any worst? "Alright, that's enough!" the blue bird declared, snapping the cactus piece out of Tye's wing and tossing it away. "We have already lost enough time like this; let's get back on our way!"

Blu grabbed Tye's wing and dragged him back on the little road with the two small birds following closely. "... Hey, since when does Nico has a fish head?"

* * *

And so, Blu's group continued their short trip to Kambuzia for the next two days. By the time the sunset of the second day rolled around, the city came into view as the sky turned auburn in color above them. It was completely different from Rio or Sao Paulo: palm trees lined the riverbank going through the city with sand-colored brick buildings forming rows. Animals walked around in the streets: camels, foxes, desert lynxes, weasels, sun wild cats, Oriental leopards, striped hyenas, gazelles, peregrine falcons, and even jackals. All of them were females. However, the part that stood out the most was the giant palace located at the very far end of the city.

"A-Are we arrived?" Tye asked with blinking his eyes. The effects of the cactus juice he drank again earlier (much to Blu's annoyance) had finally worn off. Good thing because it would have been hard to sneak inside the city with a drunk bird.

"You said it, pal! Look, the city is right ahead of us!" Pedro positively said with pointing a feather at Kambuzia.

"Would you look at all these babes?" Nico asked, giving an excited look toward all the beautiful girls walking around in the city. "I can't wait to see which one would be a good fit for me..."

"Huh, you do know that my mind is clear enough to hear you, right?" Tye asked with giving the canary a deep glare. "Sorry to burst your bubbles, guys, but if you get anywhere near those girls, our heads could end up on spikes... or worst."

The group of birds looked at the city from a safe distance and behind a big stone to avoid being spotted. Female warriors were guarding the little road leading to the city's entrance. They were wearing harem pants with small tops, golden jewelry, and either scimitars, shields or spears. The ferocious look on their faces was enough to make Blu and his friends forget the idea to even try to negotiate with them.

"We need to find a way to get inside without being spotted," Blu mumbled.

"Why don't we just fly?" Tye suggested. "We could wait for the sky to turn completely dark and then fly inside the city without getting spotted; the darkness would provide cover for us."

Blu rubbed his chin, thinking about it. "Actually, that doesn't sound bad at all. Let's wait until it gets dark enough, and then, we charge."

"And find somewhere to sleep while we're at it; I'm feeling sooo tired," Pedro said with a loud yawn.

Around half an hour later, the sky went from auburn to pitch-black with hundreds of stars appearing alongside the moon. Blu, Tye, Nico and Pedro flapped their wings and made their way toward the city while making as little noise as possible. The female soldiers were walking around the city with torches, but the avians were able to get inside without getting spotted.

They all landed in a small alley where they shouldn't risk being seen. Tye peaked his head out from behind the building to look into the city's main street. There were a few shops still open, but it was mostly empty as the residents were probably home to sleep at such an hour. Despite this, some armed females still walked around, searching for potential intruders.

"It's not gonna be easy to walk around here and gather up information tomorrow," Blu remarked. "We need to find a way to talk to the people without alerting the guards. But how?" As he got lost in his thoughts, the Spix's macaw's gaze wandered around, ending up falling on a cloth shop. Almost immediately, an idea started taking form in his mind.

"What are you thinking about, Blu?" Tye asked when he followed his blue friend's gaze. The little grin he gave him afterwards caused the Eclectus parrot to widen his orange eyes in shock. "No. No! Certainly not! Tell me you're not thinking what I'm thinking!"

* * *

Unfortunately, Blu was. And it was embarrassing.

Tye could not believe what Blu, the most earnest and intelligent member of the group, had planned. Sure, they needed to get information from the townsfolks before being able to make their move and go help Jewel... but since when did the plan involve them dressing up as girls?

Looking into the mirror, Tye wondered if Blu stole the more decadent or modest version of what was considered 'normal clothes' around Kambuzia. Everything was made of soft silk with different colors for all of them - purple for Blu, orange for Tye, red and black for Pedro, and green for Nico - with tube tops around their chests that left their stomachs visible, harem pants that covered all of their legs, and thick veils to cover their faces. They also stole some jewelry and accessories similar to what the guards at the entrance worn.

The boys felt rather annoyed at the fact that they would need to act... girly for a while. The alternative would have been to walk around all day and try to eavesdrop on the city's people while not being seen... but this would have a lot less chance of success. While Tye, Nico and Pedro could see the advantages of such a plan, part of them did not like taking such a strike to their dignity. Still, they wanted to save Jewel and go home, meaning that there would be sacrifices, even if this meant their pride.

"This thing feels so... tight around me," Pedro groaned as he adjusted the silk top around his chest and then looked down at his waist. "Do you think this makes me look fat?"

"No, not at all, bro. In fact, I'd even say it's complimenting your waist," Nico assured with a wave of his wing.

"Aww, thank you," Pedro said with a giggle as he blushed behind his veil.

"You sure these are gonna help us going around without being seen? I mean, we don't have very... girly figures if you know what I mean," Tye pointed out as his tied his machete to his waist and slipped his boomerang on his back.

"Don't worry; these costumes are just perfect for us. We just need to talk with high-pitched voice and swing our hips when we talk, and everything should be fine," Blu assured with putting the last touches on his costume. However, even he could not deny it was embarrassing to dress up like a girl. If Linda or Jewel saw him like this, they would certainly laugh their heads off.

With this being done, Blu and his friends went to an inn by the riverside, talking to the receptionist with high-pitched voices (which felt terribly uncomfortable) and giving her a few coins Karasu gave them before parting ways. They went to their rooms and immediately got to bed, thinking about the challenges that awaited them tomorrow...

* * *

Rafael sighed happily. The burning rays of the sun were replaced by the cold breeze of the night, giving him a much-needed relief. A joy that Coco shared as well. They flew for a full day since they left the Alexandria Bazaar. Unlike Tye's group who took two days to reach Kambuzia, Karasu's group reached the little city in the middle of nowhere after only a full day. The raven stopped as the stone buildings came into view.

"My friends, we are arrived..."

**Author's note: I think that was one of the shortest chapters I have written for this story. I apologize for it, but I can assure you the next one will be more action-packed and more interesting.**

**Poor group of birds: Tye got drunk and they found themselves having to dress up like girls. LOL. You might have a caught a certain Avatar The Last Airbender reference in here, right?**

**As I said, a lot of action coming up. Stay stunned for it, constructive reviews are welcome, and as always, may the gods watch over you all.**


	9. Information gathering

After arriving at the city, Karasu's group set up a camp to rest for the night and only entered when it was almost noon. The raven explained his companions that it would be better to start their research for his friend when the little city was the most alive and active. The three birds walked in the city's street which was populated either by tough-looking males, well-dressed animals or beautiful females at dawn. Coco could not resist the urge to take pictures with his camera, earning strange gazes from the animals they encountered.

"This city is very impressive. It's nothing like Rio, amigo," Rafael remarked as he walked beside Karasu while turning his head to look all around.

"I agree. This city might not be as famous as Kambuzia or Parushta, but it is well-frequented nonetheless," Karasu answered while walking forward. "There are many mercenaries and slave-traders that like to come around here. If you're weak, they will consider you fresh meat and either kill you or make your life miserable."

Just as he said this, Rafael saw a muscled gazelle giving him a very disturbing glare in his direction. "I believe you, amigo, I believe you..."

"This place is so amazing! If this continues, I'm gonna fill a whole battery in one day!" Coco beamed in excitation as he took pictures left and right. "Say, are you sure we're gonna find your friend around here?"

"Yes, absolutely sure," Karasu replied with a little grin on his beak.

* * *

"Aww, that hit the spot," Asher happily sighed as he finished 'emptying' himself in a calm corner of the street. With all the excitement in the city, it was a bit hard to find good spots to do your things in peace. He pulled his pants and zipped them back up before tying his hatchet he had been keeping in his wing during all that time. Even if he was alone, it was better to be prepared.

The Kea ran a wing through his olive-green head feathers and then walked away from the street corner. Aryx and the others must be waiting for him with fresh cups of beer... well, _almost_ fresh beer. He reached the bar in question, pulling the wooden door open with a loud 'CREEEK!', testifying how old it was.

Upon entering the tavern, he was welcomed by the sound of laughter of brawls - nothing new. The bartender was rubbing a cup with a cloth, not paying attention to the new customer in his building or the brawls going on around. It was as dull inside as it was on the outside. Marble pillars supported the upper floor and the lanterns attached to them. The walls were littered with all sorts of memorabilia, many of which have become unrecognizable due to dust, cobwebs and other dirt.

"Asher!" The Kea turned his head to see a group of ten warriors sitting at a large table with cups of drink. "Come, quick! Your beer is getting warm... well, warmer than it already is, ha, ha, ha!"

Chuckling a bit, Asher went to sit down with his friends, grabbing a pitcher and filling a wooden cup for himself with it. He took one sip of it and frowned a bit. "This thing is crapjuice compared to what we find in the Royal Providence."

Aryx and the others laughed at that. "If you want my opinion, it's a waste of time to drink it: it comes in yellow, it comes out yellow. It will always be yellow."

"Still better than what we got in that other tavern; I still have this horrible taste in my mouth," another of Asher's friends said with a frown.

"And it smells like shit!"

"One of the very rare things in the Oriental Providence that doesn't," Asher remarked which made all of his friends laugh out loud. He then rose his cup for a toast. "Let's not forget that today is a day of celebration. We have taken down Salab and won eight hundred rials for it! They say that only the poors really know how to spend money! With all of this, we can buy the finest wines, the best whores, the best weapons, the best inns with good quality beds!"

"Who needs best whores when the bad ones are so much fun, Asher?" one of his men asked, causing yet another fit of laughters.

"Good point. To our new fortune!"

"To our new fortune!" all of Asher's men replied as they slammed their cups against one another, spilling some of their content onto the floor, before taking a sip at the same time.

SLAM!

As if on cue, the tavern's door got shot open and in walked a group of armed hyenas looking visibly pissed off and blood thirsty. All the eyes inside the building turned in their direction, either out of curiosity, fear... or both. They ran their golden eyes all over the room, as if searching for something... or someone.

"Shit! They found us!" one of Asher's men mumbled nervously. Indeed, these hyenas were part of Salab's group. The part that they did not kill during the confrontation. Asher could tell from the look on their faces that they did not come back to discuss.

"Here they are!" one of them said with pointing a finger in their direction. They walked closer to their table, paws on the handles of their swords.

"Guys!" Asher said in a cheerful tone as he pulled his cup down and rose to his feet while stretching his wings as if he welcomed an old friend. "Glad to see you. Funny how life brings old friends together, isn't it?"

"I've come here to cut your fucking throats!" one of the hyenas declared while baring his teeth.

"Yeah, good to see you too," the Kea sarcastically said, placing his wings on his hips.

"You really thought you could kill our boss, take the reward for his head, and just get away with? Sorry, but you were bloody wrong!" another hyena declared. "Eight hundred rials, that's already more than a bunch of bastards from the Royal Providence like you deserve!"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Asher responded with rising his wings in defense. "Your boss was a slave trader and raper. You should be happy that he is no longer part of this world-"

"As I said, you are all gonna pay for what you did," the hyena repeated in a low, threatening tone.

Asher understood these beasts were not going to leave with a good talk as they approached the group of warriors with their swords taken out and their eyes narrowed toward them. The Kea analyzed their situation: there was around a dozen of hyenas: his group counted ten warriors plus himself. They could take them all on!

The olive-green bird did the first thing that came to his mind: flipping the table over to knock down two hyenas that were too close to them. "Aryx! My sword, now!"

The kiwi bird did just that, grabbing Asher's sword which he left resting against the table he just flipped and tossed it at its owner. This last one grabbed the oak handle to pull it out of the scabbard and reveal a beautiful silver metal blade that reflected the little light inside the tavern. The other warriors also grabbed their own weapons and the battle started.

Saying it was a well-balanced fight would be a lie. Asher's friends were well-disciplined warriors holding strong weapons while these hyenas were nothing more than mere scums swinging their swords around like drunk knights and using the first weapons they found in rat holes.

CLANG! Asher blocked the hyena's sword with his own, their eyes meeting with piercing gazes before he pushed him back with a boot to the chest. The Kea didn't move and just stood there with his feet firmly planted into the ground, his eyes glaring at the hyena who was closing in on him fast. Once he was within range, the bandit thrust his arm forward with the tip of the blade aimed at the bird's heart. A sudden cry of pain followed the sound of a blade piercing through flesh and bone.

Blood spilled on the ground, the hyena standing in front of the bird, glaring into each other's eyes. The other bandits stared with wide eyes and open mouths in both horror and shock. The blade of their friend's sword had gone through the gap between Asher's wing and his body while the sword of the aforementioned avian pierced through the bandit's chest and was now sticking out of his back.

The Kea watched as the bandit's pupils shrank before pulling his blood-covered sword out of his body. Blood dripped off the shiny blade and onto the ground at his feet. The animal's body staggered backward before slumping forward and landed face first on the ground. "Bad move," he mumbled before turning toward the other fighting hyenas and let out a screech: "KE-AAAW!"

His piercing scream struck terror into the hyenas, just like it always did. Another one of them found the courage to attack Asher, swinging his sword horizontally. The avian ducked, causing the blade the glide past his head. He then stood up and twisted his body around before planting a powerful kick to the bandit's chest. As he laid down on his back, Asher stabbed his sword into his chest, granting him a quick if painful death.

He then turned his head to see the battle finally coming to an end. Total annihilation of the hyenas, no casualties on Asher's side. In other words, a total victory. "Another day like every other one," he mumbled with swinging his sword to wipe some blood off of it and onto the floor.

"Asher."

The Kea stopped himself just before he could pull his sword away upon hearing this familiar voice. He slowly turned around to see a certain raven wearing black and red Feudal robes with many scrolls tied around his waist and a scarf wrapped around his neck. He was accompanied by a toucan and a white-collared kite who had some sort of item Asher had never seen before tied to his neck.

"K-Karasu?!" the Kea exclaimed. "What in the living heck?!"

"I'm glad I found you, my old friend," the raven said as he stepped forward, putting his two wings on Asher's shoulders with a smile. "It has been, what, a full year?"

"It's incredible! How did you manage to find me in the Oriental Providence?"

"I just trusted my instincts and went to the city with the most mercenaries and slave traders. Once in here, I searched for a brawl and there you are, just as I predicted," Karasu explained with his wings crossed.

"Am I so predictable?" Asher asked with a chuckle. "But what are you doing here, Karasu? You didn't come all the way here just to see an old friend, did you?"

"I wish it would be the case, but it's not." Karasu stepped forward, putting his wings on the Kea's shoulders. "Asher, we need to discuss something serious. I need your help with a big problem..."

* * *

When Blu awakened the next morning, he was met by the terrible dry taste in his beak. _"I'm gonna need to eat ice melons soon,"_ he thought. He slid off the edge of the bed and approached the mirror in his room, seeing a female Spix's macaw staring back at him. She had beautiful hazel brown eyes and a purple veil that covered most of her face. Although overall lean, her figure was square with her waist not curvy enough to be considered feminine.

"I hope this disguise will actually work today," Blu mumbled to himself as he adjusted the purple silk top around his chest.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he walked out of his room, meeting Tye, Nico and Pedro outside, and went to the front desk of the inn where the innkeeper awaited. "Thank you-" His voice sounded too masculine, so he coughed a bit and held a wing to his throat. "Thank you. My friends and I will probably be returning tonight."

She nodded and smiled. "Very well. Have a nice day!"

"Thanks!" Blu squeaked and hurried out of the inn before his cover could be blown away.

"Phew! I'm glad we didn't get caught back there, guys. It would have sucked to end up with our heads on spikes," Pedro remarked with wiping sweat off his forehead with a wing. Nico suddenly gave him a nudge in the side.

"Dude! You forgot to walk the right way!"

Sighing, the cardinal started swiveling his large hips with every step. Even with his veil, the others could distinguish the frown of discomfort on his face. "How do girls walk like this all the time?" The other boys shrugged at his question.

After a few minutes, the group arrived at the central place of Kambuzia. Unlike last night, when they arrived, it was more lively with the citizens going all around, buying stuff in the numerous shops or chatting with friends. Of course, the guards were still patrolling the city, though no one seemed afraid of them. But that was because they were not boys dressed up as girls...

Blu turned toward his three friends and started explaining the plan. "Alright, guys, we need to learn as much as we can about this city and the Snake Queen before going to rescue Jewel. Here's what we're gonna do: we will split up and go around to question the people of this city. Try to gather up as much information about the palace and how we can get inside. If possible, try to also learn about the Snake Queen and how we can free Jewel from her spell. We'll meet again here at noon, okay?"

"You got it, Blue Boy!" Pedro replied with a wink.

"You can count on us," Nico added with making his bottle cap roll on his shoulders and back to the top of his head.

"Just be careful not to get caught. If your cover is blown, I'm not sure we'll be able to do anything for you," Tye remarked, gulping at the thought of getting captured and tortured.

"Alright. Good luck, guys," Blu said before he and his friends parted ways. "Who should I go interrogate first?" The Spix's macaw looked around: the townsfolks all looked friendly and easy to approach and interrogate. Well, except maybe the guards.

Wait, the guards? Of course! If anyone in this city knew anything about the palace and its queen, it would be the guards! But would they accept to answer Blu's questions? And what if they guessed that he was a male? It was risky... but for Jewel, he would take that risk!

Blu approached the first patrol of guards he met, three desert foxes, and cleared his throat to speak with the most feminine voice he could use. "Excuse me, misses, may I ask you something?"

The small gazes they gave him was enough to make Blu's heartbeat increase. He stared at their spears and imagined the pain of getting stabbed to death by them. "Sure, what is it, _'iimr'atan shaba_?"

The young bird did not understand that last part, but went on with his question anyway. "I would like to meet the Snake Queen and wondered if it would be possible?"

"And why's that?" another one of the guards asked, approaching Blu and glaring down at him. "Usually, people who travel here just want to buy stuff and get out of here. What makes you wish to see Her Majesty?"

Resisting the urge to gulp nervously, Blu kept his composure and replied: "Well, I've heard stories about how beautiful she was and that she can dance like no one else can. I just wished to see for myself if this was true."

The fox guard rose an eyebrow as if she was trying to see whether Blu was telling the truth or not. Eventually, she launched her head back and laughed a lot. "So this means you're not from the Oriental Providence, then; everyone in here has seen Her Majesty at least once whether it was in person or on a painting."

"Yeah, I'm... from the north, in the middle of nowhere... in the north," Blu lied with an innocent smile, though the guards couldn't see it behind his veil.

"That explains a lot. Don't worry; you'll have the chance to see her tomorrow, at the annual palace party to commemorate the creation day of Kambuzia," one the guards explained. "Her Majesty will be there, there'll be a lot of food and drinks too, and a lot of young ladies to socialize with."

"Very well, thank you for telling me, I'm very grateful," Blu said with bowing down a bit too low and then walked away from the guards to let them continue their patrol.

"Bingo!"


	10. Infiltrating the palace

"So let me get this straight," Asher said after taking a sip from his beer cup, "You're after the Snake Queen because she went to another world, kidnapped a young lady, and used hypnotic powers to make her her slave. Now, you have assembled a team of birds from said other world to go free the young lady and you want my group's help to succeed, is that right?"

"Well, to sum it up, yes, that's pretty much it," Karasu confirmed.

After arriving at the tavern, Karasu, Rafael and Coco helped Asher's group take the hyena bandits' corpses out before sitting at their table and sharing a drink. Coco and Rafael tasted the beer and immediately spat it out due to the fact that they were birds and never drank alcohol before. The ninja raven proceeded to explain the Kea bird named Asher about their whole situation with Jewel and Shanti.

The two birds from the Human World could not hide the fact that they were a bit impressed by Asher's appearance. Being a Kea bird, his feathers were green close to olive unlike Tye's whose feathers were lime green. His short head feathers were pulled back to reveal a serious if somewhat charming face. His oak-brown eyes set narrowly within their sockets reflected a fierce nature. Despite his size, which reached barely above Rafael, Asher's toned body made them understand he was not to be underestimated. The numerous cuts in his brown shirt and pants as well as the bronze protections on his shoulders accentuated his warrior nature.

"So you're gonna help us, Mister Asher?" Coco asked with an excited expression.

"Don't call me 'Mister', pal. Just Asher is enough," the Kea assured as he took another sip of his beer cup. "Or Asher The Oak Warrior, it's as you want."

"Oak Warrior?" The kite reached his wing to poke at Asher's strong and solid wing. "What are you talking about? You're not made of oak; you're made of feather, bone and flesh, just like me."

All the warriors of the group laughed of good heart at the white bird's remark. "We know. 'Oak Warrior' is Asher's nickname, boy," the kiwi bird named Aryx explained. "He got it after the Battle of the Keep in the Royal Providence when his sword was broken. Using a knife, he made himself a sword from an oak tree's trunk and managed to kill over 50 invaders by himself with it. That's why everyone nicknames him Asher The Oak Warrior."

Coco blinked his red eyes in confusion. "Battle of the Keep? Royal Providence? What are these?"

"Please, don't forget that these young folks aren't from our world, guys," Karasu demanded. "They know nothing our society, history, and manners."

"Yes, sorry, I forgot about it," Asher said with chuckling and rubbing the back of his head. "What I can tell you folks is that nicknames are of importance in this world. Every famous character of the Animal Kingdom has a nickname that distinguishes them for the rest of their lives. Karasu, for example, is called 'The Shadow of the West', Prince Seth of Parushta - the most important city of this country - is nicknamed 'The Viper', and Kogana Tsubasa, one of the strongest warriors of the continent, is called 'The Radiant Raven'. In the Animal Kingom, your nickname can make or break you."

"Back to the matters at hand, are you gonna help us, Asher?" Karasu asked. "We could use some extra arms - or wings in this case - for our mission. My friends are at Kambuzia to get ready for our rescue mission, but I don't know how long they will manage to hold on before we join them, so I have to leave as soon as possible. And the city is three days away from here. So are you in?"

Asher clicked his tongue, lying back in his chair and pulling his two feet on the table. "Karasu, man, I don't know. I mean, there's nothing that would make me happier than to help an old friend of mine. However, the boys and I just finished a mission that took us a whole week of work and we're a bit tired. If you would ask me to help you with a few bandits, I wouldn't have any problem, but you're asking me to go up against the Snake Queen. This is pretty risky."

"I'm not asking you to start an open war with the army of Kambuzia, Asher," Karasu clarified. "I just ask you to accompany my party to the city and help us free my friend's mate. Once it'll be done, we'll all leave and go to the Feudal Providence, where the Snake Queen will not be allowed to chase us." Despite his explanation, the raven could see the hesitation in the Kea's eyes. He sighed and reached into his robes to take out a little shining coin which he tossed at his friend. "You're lucky I've made some economies in the past years. Accept to help us and this platinum coin is yours; you can buy all the drinks and food you'll want in the Feudal Providence."

All of Asher's group looked at the little coin in surprise while their leader held it in his wing, examining it from every angle. "... A platinum coin? Those are very rare." Smirking, he pulled the object in his pocket. "Alright then, we'll be accompanying you. As soon as your friend is free, we're heading for the Feudal Providence."

"Perfect. Thanks, Asher," Karasu gratefully said. "Kambuzia is three days away from here, so we'll leave this afternoon."

"You heard him, boys? Get your things packed up; we're leaving for the city of beauties in a few hours!"

* * *

In Kambuzia city, the sun finally reached the very middle of the sky, indicating noon arrived. In other words, it was time for Blu's group to meet again in the middle of the market place and share their discoveries. The Spix's macaw told his friends about the party at the palace supposed to take place tomorrow according to the patrol he met. He then asked them what they had learned.

Nico went to a perfume shop where the shopkeeper told him that the festivities were going to begin at noon. Pedro learned from a beautiful peregrine falcon he originally wanted to flirt with, just before remembering he was supposed to be a girl, that Shanti would come out and perform a dance for the crowd one hour after the start of the party. And finally, Tye spied on a few soldiers and learned that Jewel became a member of the Snake Queen's guard. Apparently, she was tasked with keeping one room inside the palace during the party.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do, guys," Blu mumbled after making sure there was no patrol around them to hear their conversation. "We're gonna attend the party tomorrow and I'm gonna sneak inside the palace to find Jewel and get her out."

"What?! Have you lost your mind?!" Tye asked with a panicking tone. "That was not part of the plan; we're supposed to wait for Coco, Rafael and Karasu to come back with backup before planning our invasion of the palace and get Jewel back!"

"Well, it is now, Tye," Blu replied in a firm, decided tone. "We just found an opportunity to rescue Jewel before the end of the next day, so I'm not gonna wait for Karasu to take it. I'm gonna sneak into that palace tomorrow with or without you!"

"Don't worry, Tye-Tye; we just gotta play it smooth, and everything will be cool," Nico said in his usual positive and calm attitude while spinning his bottle cap on his wing.

The Eclectus parrot rubbed his eyes in annoyance. "Why do I have a feeling like we're gonna regret this?"

With things being settled, the avian group returned to the inn to rest and get ready for their big plan tomorrow...

#

Blu walked past the entrance gates of the royal palace, his three friends following closely behind with one of them trying to maintain his composure, the other struggling to swing his hips while walking, and the last one keeping a wing close to his boomerang. The numerous guards posted at the entrance gave them observating glances, probably searching for any reason to neutralize them. Luckily, they didn't find any and the four birds walked in with no problem.

Tye sighed in relief as they approached the main courtyard where some servants walked past him. Many females were having a snack or a drink at a buffet while others were chilling with their friends, admiring the beautiful plants and fountains that decorated the courtyard.

"Alright, everyone remembers our plan?" Blu mumbled to his friends, making sure no one heard their conversation. "We wait until Shanti comes out to perform her dance and distracts everyone. Then, I'm gonna try to sneak inside the palace and find Jewel. If you guys see a guard about to spot me, you either try to distract her or knock her out with Tye's boomerang."

"Maybe this plan will be fun after all," the Eclectus parrot remarked with a grin behind his veil.

"Now, all we need to do, is wait for lady snake to come out and dance," Pedro said as he left to go get a snack.

One hour passed and the crowd cheered loudly as the palace's doors opened and out walked their queen. Despite meeting her over a week ago, Blu could see the difference of her form in this world. She turned anthropomorphic like the avians and now had D-cup sized breasts, a slim stomach and a long tail full of scales. A red silk bra decorated with golden coins covered her chest while her lower body was wrapped by a skirt of the same color and material. In addition, a golden tiara jewel decorated her forehead.

The poor Spix's macaw had to resist the urge to open his wings, dart to this vile reptile, pin her to the ground with his talons, and force her to give his mate back. As tempting as this was, Blu was intelligent enough to know this would only result in him getting captured and killed. He needed to keep his head straight and wait for a good moment to sneak in and save her.

And that moment might have just arrived. A group of musicians carrying harps, ouds, neys, and at least five different kinds of drums came onto the stage and started playing, the crowd falling silent as they let their queen and the music get all their attention. Shanti began swaying her hips to the beat of the drums in perfect synchronization. As her routine began getting slightly faster and more complex, yet still fluid and beautiful, Blu realized it was his chance to put the plan in action.

The blue bird moved away from the crowd and from the entrance. It was time to analyze the building and find either an open door or an open window. Looking at the left side first, his gaze strolled past closed windows and golden decoration on the palace's wall. He found nothing interesting, but a couple of steps further, he found what he was looking for: a small balcony on the second level with an open window.

"Bingo!" The blue bird walked around bushes and shrubbery, which blocked his path, and hid amongst different groups of animals as he approached the balcony that would grant him entrance to the palace. There were a few guards around, but they were too busy watching their queen dancing to pay attention. However, Blu knew how delicate his mission was and still did his best to not make the slightest noise that would alert them of his presence.

After making sure that no one was looking at him, the Spix's macaw braced himself and ran towards the wall. He used his wings to give himself a little push and used his talons to hold onto the wall. The agility he developed throughout the years with Linda came in handy and allowed him to easily reach the balcony. As soon as he got a good grip on the balustrade, he hoisted himself up.

With the easy part being done, the Spix's macaw entered the palace through the open window and made sure to keep it open in case he would need to get out in a hurry. He found himself in a fancy room where ruby and gold seemed to be the dominant colours. With quiet footsteps, which didn't get heard thanks to the large carpet that covered most of the floor, Blu made his way out of the room without being noticed.

The intruder parrot was not surprised upon noticing the guards present in nearly every room of the palace. Lucky for him, there was a lot of furniture that he could use as a cover. They allowed him to move from one room to another and successfully avoided detection. Soon, he slipped into another room which was larger than the previous ones. Using covers to avoid a patrol that happened to pass by, Blu entered the room.

And there she was.

Jewel stood in front of a door like a guardian. As with all the others, her appearance changed too because of the Animal Kingdom. She took an anthropomorphic form similar to Blu's, but more... feminine. A golden plate covered her chest while her legs were hiding behind a light green skirt that hung low on her hips and allowed her concave stomach to be seen. A golden necklace decorated her neck and her wings were holding a spear made of the same material. If the situation wasn't so urgent, Blu would be probably be mesmerized by such beauty.

"Who's there? Who are you?" the female macaw asked, rising her spear forward as the intruder came out of his cover and revealed himself.

"Jewel! It's me! It's Blu!" he quickly said with removing his veil to show his face. "I've come to get you back home."

Jewel rose a curious eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about? I don't know you. You shouldn't be in here."

"Jewel, please," Blu said, taking the spear off Jewel's wings and tossing it away so that she wouldn't do anything wrong. "I'm your mate. We have to get out of here."

"M-My mate? Impossible: Lady Shanti says that males are horrible creatures killing for no reason."

"Don't you remember me, Jewel?" Blu took his mate's wings with his own, giving a deep look of sincerity into her beautiful turquoise eyes. "We met at the aviary in Rio. At first, you didn't want anything to do with me and you just wanted to escape and go live back in the jungle. But then, we got captured by Nigel and chained to one another. We traveled across half of Rio to find a way to break free and we met Rafael, Nico, and Pedro. When you were going to fall from the plane, I jumped down to save you because... because I couldn't bear the thought of living without you. You're my soul sister, Jewel. And we're chained to each other birds."

After finishing his speech, Blu planted his beak onto Jewel's for a kiss. The warm feeling of love he missed so much... For a moment, the stop stopped spinning and Blu battled his tongue against his mate's, giving her all of his love. By the time he needed to get air back in his lungs, Blu broke contact with her and looked at his mate. Her turquoise eyes were wide open and blinking, as if she was confused and tried to proceed what just happened.

"Hey! What's going on, here?!"

Turning his head, Blu saw three female foxes armed with spears looking at him from the corridor. Okay, maybe removing his veil wasn't such a good idea after all. But this was the perfect opportunity to test his Capoeira training while Jewel escaped. "Get out of here, Jewel; Nico, Pedro and Tye are in the courtyard where Shanti is performing her dance. Go see them and they'll get you to safety; I'll join you later-"

However, just as Blu started swinging himself left to right the exact way Mauro taught him to, he felt something hit the back of his head. The world started spinning around him as he collapsed to the floor. He managed to hear Jewel saying one last thing before passing out...

_"Go get the Queen; she will know what to do with this intruder..."_

**Author's note: Uh-oh, looks like Blu has gotten himself in trouble. You thought that a single kiss would be enough to break Jewel from the spell of Shanti? Sorry, but this is no classic Disney story.**

**All we can do now is hope that either Tye's group will somehow find a way to help him or that Karasu will arrive with the backup in time to make the save. You're gonna have to wait for the next chapter to find out. As always, stay stunned and may the gods watch over you all.**


	11. Execution at the palace

Asher flew ahead of the group under the burning sun. Good thing the god blessed his team with only avian soldiers as foot animals wouldn't have allowed them to fly and it would have taken them longer to reach Kambuzia. The warriors were very excited to accomplish their mission for two reasons: they would get to see a lot of pretty girls in the city and after the mission was done, they would go to the Feudal Providence and have a lot of fun with the reward Karasu Tengu gave them.

"First, the eight hundred rials, and now, a platinum coin?" one of the men said. "I think that's more money than we ever had since we left the Royal Providence!"

"I can already imagine all the alcohol I will be able to ingest with it!" another one said.

"We'll have a little drinking contest if you want."

Rafael couldn't help but chuckle at the enthusiasm of these warrior birds. He was glad Karasu convinced them to join their cause as it gave them better chances to succeed in defeating the Snake Queen and bringing Jewel back. The toucan hoped they would be back home soon as he couldn't stop thinking about his wife and kids who must be worried sick for him. He could already think about all the hugs he would receive upon entering his hollow and telling the kids that their auntie is fine.

His attention soon turned to Coco who looked down with some sweat on his forehead. Rafael knew this had nothing to do with the heat because they all ate some ice melons before leaving. "Hey, Coco, are you fine? You look nervous."

"I-I don't know, Rafael," the white-collared kite responded with looking down. "I have this weird sensation in my chest, as if... something terrible was about to happen."

The toucan rose a curious eyebrow. "What makes you feel that way?"

"I don't know... I just think we need to reach Kambuzia as soon as possible."

* * *

"What is he doing? What is he doing?" Tye nervously asked as he paced back and forth.

It had been twenty minutes now since their blue friend disappeared into the palace to go search for his mate and the trio started getting worried. Sure, it was a big palace and finding Jewel was probably taking a lot of time. But still, what if something went wrong? What if Blu met some guards and they found out he was a male? Did they lock him away in a dungeon to torture him? Was he already dead?

"For the love of samba, it's taking too long!" Pedro complained. "Why isn't Blue Boy back yet?"

"I swear, if he's making us wait because he wanted some time alone with Jewel to make out, I'm gonna kick his feathered butt as soon as I see him," Nico grumbled with his wings crossed.

"No, that's not like Blu; he wouldn't do this while knowing we're still in potential danger," Tye answered his canary friend. "I'm gonna go in there and make sure nothing happened to him."

"Be careful, Tye-Tye," Pedro called as the Eclectus parrot walked away from the crowd and in the same direction Blu left earlier.

After a quick inspection, Tye found the same balcony with an open window Blu used earlier. Reaching it revealed itself to be harder as Shanti finished her dance a few moments ago and the guards no longer had any form of distraction. One of them standing on top of the wall almost spotted him and would have called the alert, had he not knocked her by throwing his boomerang at the back of her head.

"It was too close to my taste," he sighed upon reaching the balcony and catching his trusty wooden weapon that came flying back into his wing. "Hold on, Blu, I'm coming," he thought as he slipped through the open window.

* * *

Blu groaned as the world came back to him. His head hurt madly - maybe not as much as when the Snake Queen slammed it on a stone a week ago, but not too far either. He felt a warm and disgusting liquid inside his beak. Wanting to wipe it away, he tried to reach his beak with a wing, only to find out his two limbs could no longer move. Blinking his hazel eyes a few times, he looked down to see thick ropes wrapped around his waist, pinning his wings against his sides.

"Wakey, wakey, little birdie."

The bird looked up to see a reptile looking down at him with a smirk. Jewel was standing behind her alongside a couple other guards, all of them snickering a little bit. Turning his head, Blu realized they were in a different room from the one he was before getting knocked out cold. D-Did Jewel do that?

"W-What happened...?" he mumbled, still dazed from the hit he received behind the head.

"What happened, you pathetic male, is that you thought you could sneak into _my_ city, _my_ home, and get _my_ little girl away from me," Shanti replied, poking a finger at Blu's head every time she said 'my'. "But you dangerously underestimated me, boy. This mistake is gonna cost you a lot..."

Despite the death sentence threatening him, Blu could only look and worry for his mate. "W-Why are you doing this, Shanti? What has my mate ever done to you? She never knew you existed and can't possibly have done something to wrong you."

"You couldn't possibly understand, male," she whistled with anger, slapping her tail across the captured bird's face. "What would a man know about anything? Your ancestors have taken everything away from me! And today, your disgusting species shall pay for it!"

"What are you talking about? What has my species done to you?" Shanti once again slapped Blu across the face with her tail as an answer to his question.

"That's none of your business," she spat. "I know your kind; you're all the same. And you don't need to know, since you'll be dead in a moment anyways. Take him!"

Two guards grabbed Blu by the shoulders and dragged him along as Shanti and Jewel walked forward. The Snake Queen pushed big doors open and they all came out on the stage where she performed her dance moments ago. She stopped slithering right on the very edge of the stage and before the large crowd of women with Jewel at her side. The guards forced Blu down on his knees where everyone could see him.

"My sisters!" Shanti called. "We have captured this little male bird sneaking inside my beloved palace in hopes of killing me with poisons!" This statement caused a large chorus of boos from the crowd to explode.

"What? That's not true, I-" Blu's attempts to protest were silenced by a slap across the face from Shanti's tail.

"Silence, you pathetic male! After committing the crime of getting inside this city despite our rules being VERY clear that it is forbidden, you think you have the right to talk?"

Ignoring the burning pain in his cheek, Blu gave a look around to see where his friends were at the moment and if they could help him. He managed to spot Nico and Pedro, looking at this scene in panic and trying to think of something to do. But unless they could take on all those guards by themselves, things seemed hopeless.

"Are we gonna let this male go away and make Kambuzia look like a city of fools, my sisters?" Shanti asked to a chorus of boos and 'no' from the crowd. Her lips twisted into a sadistic smirk. "That's exactly what I was thinking too." She turned her head to her little blue bird. "Jewel, my beautiful new daughter, prove me your loyalty... Bring me this male's head!"

Blu looked in horror as his mate nodded and grabbed an axe from one of the guards and walked beside him. Fear took over Blu's whole being as she gave him a cold glare. Was this how things would end? Killed by his own mate after doing everything he could to save her? No. This couldn't be the end...

"Jewel...," Blu mumbled with a pleading look, tears building up in his eyes. "Please, don't do this. There's so much we have yet to do... We wanted to go having vacations in the Amazon. Dancing all night long at the samba club until our wings get tired. Having children, raising them together, and watching them becoming adults so that we can live happily forever..."

Jewel's glare turned to a soft expression. For a moment, Blu thought he saw the normal, kind look of his mate in her eyes. Did he manage to break the spell and free her from Shanti's clutches? SLAP! The burning pain pierced his cheek once more as he received another tail whip from the evil queen. "Get this over with!" Looking up, Blu saw Jewel returning to her cold glare and, as she rose her axe, he thought about all the things that happened in his life.

He was born in Rio, but somehow ended up in Minnesota, where his best friend, Linda, took care of him, choosing his name and making sure he wouldn't lack anything. Sure, he never learned how to fly, but that's when the best thing in his life happened: he went to Rio de Janeiro, met Jewel along with all his friends, and their love allowed him to fly for the first time. They were then released into the wild and hoped to live together forever. Then, Jewel got kidnapped by smugglers and, with help from his new friends, he managed to save her once again.

After a little more time in peace, this evil Snake Queen arrived and hypnotized Jewel, taking her away to a new world. After learning Capoeira from Mauro, Blu and his friends left for this new world to go rescue the love of his life once again. But it did not end like the previous times. It was the end. At least, he got the chance to see his mate one last time, even if she was the one to deliver the killing blow.

Turning his head forward, Blu could see Nico and Pedro trying to fight their way to him, but the crowd did not allow them to make it. He also saw Tye standing on the balcony he used to enter, a look of shock in his orange eyes. The Eclectus parrot grabbed his boomerang and launched it in the macaw's direction. However, the distance was too large; there was no way it would reach him in time. Sighing sadly, Tyler "Blu" Gunderson accepted his fate, pulling his head forward, and mumbled his final words.

"Chained to each other birds..."

Tye, Nico and Pedro could only look in horror as their friend's head fell off his shoulders...

* * *

Coco let out a piercing screech, clutching his chest and falling down on the sandy ground. This alerted all the others who stopped flying and immediately turned around. "Coco!" Rafael exclaimed as he reached his friend's side, taking his wing in his. "What's wrong?"

The white-collared kite looked up at the toucan with tears in his eyes. "Blu..."

**Author's note: You have no idea how hard it was for me to write this. I cried a little bit... Excuse me, I have to go clean my tears away. So I'm just gonna tell you this: may the gods watch over you all...**


	12. Reunion at the bazaar

Time seemed to stop for Tye. After a moment of research in the palace, he heard a loud commotion coming from outside and came back on the balcony he used to enter. Saying that he was shocked upon seeing Blu kneeling down beside the Snake Queen on the same stage she used to dance would be an understanding. What happened? How did he get caught?

However, these details were the least of his worries at the moment. After a hateful speech and a few tail whips across his face, Shanti ordered Jewel to execute Blu on the spot. Knowing that Nico and Pedro would not make it to him in time - at least not without getting killed - the Eclectus parrot immediately took out his boomerang and launched it. There was a large amount of distance between his target and himself. He hoped with all of his heart that his trusty weapon would make contact in time.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

By the time Tye's boomerang slammed Jewel's head, knocking her to the ground, she already brought her axe down, separating Blu's head from his body. "NOOO!" Tye shouted in horror as his Spix's macaw friend's head rolled on the stage's floor. It was his fault. He should have followed his friend in the first place instead of staying behind and letting him go inside the palace alone.

The poor parrot almost failed to catch the boomerang in his wing as it came back. And the time to cry would need to wait too: the attack he landed on Jewel alerted the guards of his presence and the Snake Queen already ordered everyone to catch him. The lost of his friend caused his mind to go black. He would kill the Snake Queen. He would kill them all!

Jumping down on the floor, Tye grabbed his machete in his wing and attempted to charge forward, only for Nico and Pedro to somehow manage to hold him back. "Let me go! Let me go, you hear me?! I'm gonna kill this damn snake! I'm gonna slice her throat open and shove it up her-"

"Tye, please, stop!" Nico begged as he used every bit of force in his tiny body to prevent his Eclectus parrot friend from charging into a battle that would certainly lead to his death. "It's too late; we can't do anything! We must leave here or we'll all get killed too!"

As much as he wanted to charge in the battle and unleash his rage on those bastards who killed his friend... Tye knew it would be pointless. Blu was already gone and he couldn't beat all of them by himself. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his machete away and opened his wings to fly away with his friends. The trio narrowly avoided the few spears that were tossed at them and soon made it out of Kambuzia.

"Go after them!" the Snake Queen ordered. "They were with this male; we're gonna purge them for entering our beautiful city!" She then looked at the ground, her lips twisted into a sadistic smirk. She slithered up, leaned down, and grabbed the head of the intruder who attempted to take away her new daughter. "You should have stayed in your little home when you had the chance, puny male."

The Snake Queen rose the blue head for her girls to see, receiving loud cheers.

* * *

The group of Karasu, Asher, Rafael, and Coco arrived at the Alexandria Bazaar and rested for a full day before being able to continue their journey. The soldiers tried not to drink too much as they needed to keep their head straight for the invasion of Kambuzia. But after a good night's sleep, they were filled with energy and ready to take on a whole army.

"I hope Blu and the others are doing well," Karasu remarked as he made sure all of the scrolls tied around his waist were in place. "Making yourself go by for a girl in such a long time isn't easy inside a city like Kambuzia."

"I'm sure they're fine, mate," Asher assured with patting the raven on the shoulder. "They're probably having a good time with all these cute ladies around to admire."

Rafael chuckled at this before turning his head and seeing Coco looking at his camera while shaking. The poor boy had been trembling in fear ever since the moment he collapsed in the sand and claimed that something horrible had happened to Blu. "Hey, are you okay, Coco buddy?"

The white-collared kite rose his red eyes to look at his friend. "S-Something terrible happened to Blu... I-I can feel it..."

"Come on, Coco, you don't know that. You're probably just nervous for him and it makes you feel weird," Rafael explained with wrapping a reassuring wing around his young friend.

Karasu, however, wasn't so sure about that. Coco had been worried for his friends ever since they parted ways at this very bazaar. Why would he collapse and feel nervous like this out of nowhere? Could it be possible that he...? No, impossible. Coco was from the Human World; he couldn't possibly have any magical powers... "Enough talking. It's time for us to go. We'll know how Blu and the others are going when we reach Kambuzia," the raven said and led his two friends out of the bazaar's restaurant.

"Look! Bird incoming!" Aryx suddenly called with pointing at the sky where three avian figures were coming down. As they got closer, Coco quickly recognized them.

"It's them! It's our friends!"

Tye, Nico and Pedro landed ungracefully on the sandy floor, tired from forcing their wings to fly hard for so long. But they needed to as they wanted to put as much distance as they could between Kambuzia and themselves. Luckily, their friends immediately rushed at their sides.

"Are you okay?" Rafael asked.

"What happened? Why did you leave Kambuzia before we arrived?" Karasu demanded while helping Nico back up.

"Where's Blu? I had a bad feeling for him," Coco also pointed out. The sad look and the tear-filled eyes Tye gave him made him think he would not like the answer.

"Blu... has fallen..."

* * *

And so, the trio explained their friends everything that happened in Kambuzia. How they used girl costumes to sneak inside, how they attempted to save Jewel, and how Blu got killed by Jewel under Shanti's command when their plan failed.

"What went through those thick skulls of yours?!" Karasu practically shouted, slamming his wing on the table they were sitting at. "I told you to wait for me until I came back with backup before putting the plan in action!"

"Blu wanted to do this," Tye simply said. "He thought he could maybe get to Jewel and break the spell Shanti had placed on her... But he didn't..."

Rafael wiped tears away from his eyes. He couldn't believe his boy was gone. They met only many weeks ago, yet it felt like they had known each other for years. He could still remember how it was clear to him that Blu and Jewel were made for each other, chained or not. This proved to be true by the end of their adventure. The boy was funny and weird by moment, but kind-hearted and of good nature. He still had a whole life ahead of him. The old toucan couldn't believe he was dead just like this...

Coco cried a lot too. He knew. That painful feeling in his heart he felt yesterday, it wasn't just a random nervosity breakdown. He felt something happened to his blue friend and he was right. This news hurt him just as much as the others. Despite having known him for a short period of time, the white-collared kite has come to consider the Spix's macaw a great friend. He accepted to stay with him even after learning of his difference and his strange personality. He would have given anything for him to live a bit longer.

Karasu was pretty sad too. Despite not being too familiar with him, the Spix's macaw from the Human World earned his respect with his determination to save his wife. No doubt he would have deserved a place in the Animal Kingdom for his bravery. Something that will unfortunately never be...

"This is all my fault," Tye mumbled, holding his head in his wings. "I should have gone with him. None of this would have happened if-"

"Don't say that, Tye," Rafael said. "If you had done that, you would have just ended up getting killed as well."

"What should we do now?" Nico asked.

"We can't do anything but go back home," the toucan replied. "Someone has to tell Linda and all of our friends what happened here. I will have to tell Eva what happened..."

"You go without me." All the eyes in the room turned toward Tye, who rose his face with a glare of hate and determination. "I'm staying in this world."

"What?! Tye, you can't be serious," Pedro protested. "We have to go home and-"

"I wanna avenge Blu!" the Eclectus parrot immediately cut off. "Blu was a good guy, one of my friends! And that crazy snake girl murdered him in cold blood! I will not go back to the Human World until she has answered for this crime. And besides, Jewel still has to be saved."

"I'm staying too," Coco said. "I don't know if I can really help, but I wanna do something for Blu too. If not avenging his murder, then I will at the very least try to save the girl he loved so much."

Karasu looked at the Eclectus parrot and white-collared kite alternatively. He could tell by the looks on their faces that they would not change their mind. And besides, he too went after the Snake Queen because she wanted to capture an innocent girl from another world. Now that she killed a friend of his, it was personal. "Very well, I know what we are gonna do then."

"What is it, Karasu?" Coco asked.

"In our current state, we cannot march on Kambuzia because we don't have enough force to face her army, even with Asher's group. We're gonna need help if we want to free Jewel and avenge Blu," the raven explained.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Asher asked with crossing his wings.

"You still want to help us, Asher?"

"Of course."

"In that case, I need you and your group to leave for the Royal Providence and bring us as much help as you can. But before that, you're gonna go to the Northern Providence and ask the North Council for help. The northern people already have a grudge against the Oriental Providence, so they're more likely to accept joining our cause."

"You heard that, boys? We're going back home!" Asher announced, receiving cheers from his men. "But what are you gonna do, Karasu?"

"I'll go back to my home of the Feudal Providence. I have many friends there who will be more than happy to back me up with this confrontation."

"I'm coming with you," Tye declared.

"No; I think it would be better if you go with Asher and his group," Karasu replied. "I'd like Coco to accompany me instead. I think you and I would make a better match."

"That's fine with me," the white-collared kite replied with giving a nod.

"Things are settled. We are going to leave tomorrow at dawn for our respective destinations."

Tye nodded, happy that they had a plan. He then turned in Rafael, Nico and Pedro's direction. "Have a safe trip back home, guys. Thanks for everything, and please..." He marked a pause to look down. "... Tell everyone I'm sorry for what happened."

The three birds nodded their heads without hesitation, the birds both from Rio and from the Animal Kingdom watched with pity as their Eclectus parrot friend still blamed himself for what happened. They acknowledged there was nothing they could do for him at the moment. Still, that didn't stop Coco from wrapping his wings around his friend for a comforting hug. The gesture was unexpected, but still welcome.

Between the tears in his eyes and the burning rage in his heart, Tye looked up at the sky with one and only thought in his mind.

"I'm sorry, Blu. I swear to avenge you and save your mate..."

**Author's note: There we are, the end of this story. I'm certain this wasn't the ending you were expecting. You all thought that Blu would somehow escape death, break Jewel's spell, and then have an amazing final fight against Shanti with Karasu and Asher backing him up, right? Sorry, but no.**

**I know you probably have hundreds of questions and I'd make myself a pleasure to answer them all, by PM or by reviews. I bet that the one I will receive first will be: 'Logan, why did you kill the main character?'.**

**Two chapters in less than 24 hours? That's what happens when you're trapped home with almost nothing to do outside. See you later for the sequel, I hope you enjoyed this story, and as always, may the gods watch over you all.**


End file.
